BERKELEY 

LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA    . 


UNDERGRAD. 
LIBRARY 


JAMES    K.MOFFITT 


X 


2-t/ 


RUSSIAN  EXPANSION 
ON  THE  PACIFIC 

1641-1850 


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les   rivers   de  .Jtolima     el    la    Lena        I^C- 


larcjeoient 


Sketch  illustrating  Bering's  first  voyage 

Made  by  J.  N.  Delisle  and  based  on  his  conversation  with  Bering 

[Delisle  Manuscripts,  xxv,  6] 


RUSSIAN  EXPANSION 

ON  THE  PACIFIC 

1641-1850 

AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  EARLIEST  AND  LATER  EXPEDITIONS 

MADE  BY  THE  RUSSIANS  ALONG  THE  PACIFIC 

COAST  OF  ASIA  AND  NORTH  AMERICA; 

INCLUDING    SOME    RELATED 

EXPEDITIONS  TO  THE 

ARCTIC  REGIONS 

BY 

F.  A.  GOLDER 


THE  ARTHUR  H.  CLARK  COMPANY 
CLEVELAND:  1914 


COPYRIGHT,    I9I4,   BY 

F.   A.   GOLDER 


Vm^^        f 


In  appreciation  of  their  friendship 

and  inspiration  I  dedicate  this 

work  to  the  professors  at 

Harvard  under  whom 

I  studied 


f   '  ,"    '  \ 


CONTENTS 

Preface  .  .  .  .  .  .  .13 

I  The  Administration   of   Eastern   Siberia  in  the 

Seventeenth  Century        .            .            .  17 

II  Russia  and  China  on  the  Amur  to  1689       •            •  33 

III  A  Critical  Examination  of  Deshnef's  Voyage        .  67 

IV  Kamchatka  and  the  Kurils    .  .  .  -97 

V  Terra  deJeso    .            .            .            .            .            .  117 

VI  Bering's  first  Expedition        .            .            .            .  133 

VII  The  Chukchi  and  the  Discovery  of  America          .  151 

VIII  Bering's  Second  Expedition    ....  165 

IX  Completion  of  the  Survey  of  Northeastern  Si- 

beria and  the  Amur  Region  .  .  .251 

Appendix  A  -  Muller's  Account  of  Deshnef's  Voyage             .  268 

Appendix  B  -  Deshnef's  Report           ....  282 

Appendix  C  -  Treaty  of  Nertchinsk    ....  290 

Appendix  D  -  European  Opinion  regarding  Kozirefski            .  294 
Appendix  E  -  Navigation  and  Discoveries  made  by  the  Rus- 
sians in  the  Eastern  Ocean  between  the  two  Voyages  of  Cap- 
tain Beerings  during  the  Years  1731  and  1732           .              .  298 
Appendix    F  -  Memoir   presented    to   the    Senate   with    Map 

which  Bering  used  in  going  to  America         .              .              .  302 
Appendix  G-The  Inhabitants  found  on  September  20,  1741, 

in  a  Port  near  Kamchatka  by  Captain  Alexis  Chirikof           .  314 

Appendix  H  -  Discovery  of  America  by  Way  of  Moscovy      .  326 
Appendix  I  -  Documents  bearing  on  the  Voyage  of  Captain 
Spanberg   from   Kamchatka   to   Japan   in   June,   July,   and 
August,   1739            .             .             .             .             .             .330 

Bibliographical  Note           .....  335 

Bibliography               ......  341 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Sketch  illustrating  Bering's  first  Voyage  .         .    Frontispiece 

Jakutsk  about  1675 41 

Godunof's  Map  of  Eastern  Siberia      ....  69 

Remezof's  Map 79 

Ys  Caap  in  place  of  the  Russian  mapmakers  Impassa- 
ble Cape 89 

The  So-called  Shestakof  Map m 

Sketch  illustrating  Gwosdef's  Voyage        .        .        .  154 

Plan  of  Okhotsk  Ostrog 167 

Sketch  of  the  route  from  the  Maja  River  to 

Okhotsk 175 

Harbor  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  in  1741    .        .        .  179 
Facsimile  of  extracts  from  Deshnef's  Report   (two 

plates) 283 


PREFACE 

I  became  interested  in  Alaska  during  a  three  years' 
residence  in  that  territory  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States  government.  On  my  return  I  began  investiga- 
tions with  a  view  of  writing  the  story  of  Alaska  as  a 
part  of  American  history  and  of  giving  but  little  time 
to  topics  connected  with  the  Asiatic  side  of  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean.  But  as  I  proceeded  I  was  compelled  to 
modify  my  plans.  I  could  not  make  intelligent  head- 
way with  the  Bering  voyages  without  a  sound  knowl- 
edge of  the  cartographical  and  geographical  ideas  of 
the  period  in  which  they  were  undertaken.  This  led  to 
the  study  of  Terra  de  Jeso.  In  my  expectation  of  work- 
ing up  the  background  of  Siberian  history  from  sec- 
ondary authorities  I  was  disappointed  for  they  proved 
to  be  unreliable  and  I  was  obliged  to  go  to  the  sources. 
Gradually  it  developed  that  which  was  planned  as  the 
background  became  the  principal  part  of  the  picture. 
My  point  of  view  had  in  the  meantime  undergone  a 
change:  the  discovery  of  Alaska  which  I  had  regarded 
as  a  beginning  chapter  of  American  history,  I  found  to 
be  the  closing  chapter  of  a  period  of  Russian  expansion. 
I  realized  also  how  closely  the  history  of  Alaska  is 
bound  up  with  that  of  Siberia,  and  that  in  order  to 
know  the  one  it  was  necessary  to  understand  the  other. 
Under  the  circumstances  I  concluded  to  devote  this  en- 
tire monograph  to  a  careful  study  of  the  conditions  and 
the  history  of  Russian  expansion  on  the  Pacific  up  to 
1750  and  at  some  future  time  to  follow  up  this  move- 
ment and  bring  it  up  to  date.     This  change  of  plan 


14  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

called  for  investigation  of  certain  topics  not  originally 
contemplated,  such  as  the  relations  of  Russia  and  China 
on  the  Amur,  and  the  administration  of  Siberia.  The 
results  of  the  investigation  of  the  last  named  topic  are 
used  here  as  an  introductory  chapter,  and  it  is  hoped 
that  it  will  clear  up  a  subject  much  talked  about  by 
writers  but  not  clearly  understood. 

In  this  work  the  question  as  to  the  comparative 
merits  of  the  officers  who  took  part  in  the  Bering  voy- 
ages has  not  been  brought  up  for  discussion,  because  it 
seemed  profitless;  for  the  same  reason  speculation  as  to 
what  might  have  been,  if  some  one  had  acted  differ- 
ently than  he  did,  has  not  been  indulged  in.  Entirely 
too  much  emphasis  may  be  laid  on  the  actors  in  the 
play  at  the  expense  of  the  play  itself.  The  Siberians 
of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  were  part 
of  a  movement  in  which  they  were  caught  and  carried 
along  without  leaving  any  impress  of  their  personal- 
ities. They  were  men  of,  more  or  less,  average  ability, 
yet  from  the  time  of  Muller  to  the  present  it  has  not 
been  possible  to  speak  of  them  with  calmness.  As  soon 
as  the  banner,  bearing  the  magic  word  "promyshlenik," 
is  waved  we  are  expected  to  fall  on  our  knees  and  bow 
to  heroes.  As  a  matter  of  fact  they  were,  at  best,  very 
ordinary  men  and  some  of  them  were  vicious  and  de- 
praved. To  appreciate  them  at  their  full  value  one 
has  but  to  study  their  descendants  at  Unalaska,  Kodiak, 
and  Sitka.  If  contemporary  documents  are  to  be  be- 
lieved, the  race  of  Siberians  has  not  degenerated  by 
being  transplanted  into  American  soil.  In  every  sea 
port  town  and  in  every  frontier  community  one  will 
find  men  who  risk  their  lives  and  suffer  hardships  for 
the  sake  of  pleasure  and  gain  just  as  the  Siberians  did. 


PREFACE  15 

There  is  nothing  heroic  about  all  this  and  if  we  stop  to 
think  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  very  commonplace. 

The  materials  for  this  investigation  were  found  at 
Harvard  University,  the  Library  of  Congress,  the  Bib- 
liotheque  Nationale,  and  the  Archives  de  la  Marine  in 
Paris  where  the  Delisle  manuscripts  are  preserved. 
The  more  important  of  the  last  documents  have  been 
copied  and  may  be  found  in  the  Appendix.  Several 
years  ago  the  Library  of  Congress  purchased  the  valu- 
able Yudin  collection  of  books  on  Siberia,  among  which 
were  the  publications  of  the  Archaeographical  Society 
containing  source  material  on  seventeenth  and  eight- 
eenth century  Siberia.  A  study  of  these  original  docu- 
ments has  forced  me  to  reject  many  of  the  views  that  I 
had  accepted  on  the  authority  of  Muller  and  others 
and  to  rewrite  a  number  of  the  chapters. 

In  the  spelling  of  the  Russian  names  of  places  I  em- 
ployed the  system  in  use  by  the  United  States  Bureau 
of  Hydrography.  The  word  "Cossack"  is  not  used  in 
a  technical  sense  but  synonymously  with  the  term  "Rus- 
sian." Dates,  wherever  they  apply  to  Russian  events, 
are  according  to  the  old  style.  It  may  not  be  out  of 
place  to  mention  that  in  Russia  during  the  seventeenth 
century,  September  was  the  first  month  of  the  year.  If 
one  will  bear  in  mind  that  the  nautical  day  was  reck- 
oned from  noon  and  not  morning  he  will  be  able  to  ex- 
plain the  seeming  confusion  in  the  accounts  as  to  the 
day  when  a  certain  event  occurred. 

I  am  glad  to  have  this  opportunity  to  express  my 
gratitude  to  Professor  Channing  for  helpful  sugges- 
tions during  the  first  stages  of  this  work.  Professor 
Coolidge  has  been  ever  ready  to  assist  me  and  I  have 
profited  by  his  advice.    Mr.  L.  R.  Wells  of  Cambridge 


i 6  PREFACE 

has  criticised  in  a  helpful  manner  two  of  the  chapters. 
Professor  W.  A.  Morris  of  the  University  of  California 
and  Professor  W.  G.  Beach  of  the  University  of  Wash- 
ington read  the  complete  manuscript  and  it  has  gained 
much  from  their  criticisms.  To  all  these  good  friends 
I  am  very  grateful  and  I  trust  that  they  may  not  feel 
that  their  efforts  have  been  in  vain.  F.  A.  GOLDER. 

Pullman,  Washington,  February  i,  1914. 

Since  writing  the  above  I  have  carefully  examined 
the  archives  at  St.  Petersburg  and  have  made  many  val- 
uable and  important  corrections  and  additions. 

F.  A.  G. 
St.  Petersburg,  Russia,  August  1,  1914. 


I.     THE  ADMINISTRATION   OF  EASTERN 

SIBERIA  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH 

CENTURY1 

By  Eastern  Siberia  is  meant  the  region  bordering  on 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  its  western  boundary  being  the  Lena 
River  and  the  southern  the  Stanovoi  Mountains.  Al- 
though this  portion  of  Siberia  is  dealt  with  here  sep- 
arately, it  would  be  wrong  to  infer  that  it  had  problems 
of  administration  unknown  to  other  parts;  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  this  vast  country  was  quite  uniform,  except 
where  local  conditions  demanded  modifications.  Agri- 
culture, mining,  and  military  affairs,  which  reached  a 
certain  importance  west  of  Jakutsk,  were  insignificant 
factors  east  of  this  city  where  all  the  energy  was  con- 
centrated on  the  fur  trade.2 

Before  taking  up  the  study  of  a  part  of  Siberia,  it 
may  be  well  to  give  a  brief  outline  of  the  general  scheme 
and  development  of  the  administration  of  Siberia  as  a 
whole.  When  Russia  secured  possession  of  this  country 
in  the  last  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  natives  were 
not  altogether  unprepared  for  the  type  of  government 
which  was  offered  them.  Instead  of  giving  their  trib- 
ute to  the  Tartar  chief,  as  the  inhabitants  had  done 

1  The  source  materials  consulted  in  the  preparation  of  this  work  consist  of 
instructions  to  officers,  law  suits,  petitions,  and  complaints  of  men  in  the  service 
and  of  the  native  tribes. 

2  The  River  Lena  was  discovered  in  1630,  and  the  Fort  Jakutsk  was  built 
two  years  later,  but  a  distinct  Jakutsh  Province  was  not  created  until  1640  or 
1641,  when  a  woewod  and  other  officers  were  appointed.  In  1675  there  were 
in  Jakutsk  Province  one  hundred  six  people  engaged  in  agriculture  and  stock 
raising.     See  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  vi,  doc.  136,  403. 


18  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

formerly,  they  now  presented  it  to  the  czar,  and  when 
it  is  all  sifted  down,  the  problem  of  administration  cen- 
tered around  the  taking  and  the  giving  of  tribute.  Even 
in  the  location  of  the  so-called  cities,  the  Russians, 
wherever  possible,  followed  closely  in  the  footsteps  of 
the  Tartars.  Tiumen,  founded  in  1586,  and  Tobolsk, 
in  1587,  were  almost  on  the  sites  of  former  Tartar  set- 
tlements. For  a  few  years  the  conquered  territory  was 
administered  from  these  two  cities  through  woewods 
[officers]  sent  from  Moscow.  As  the  expansion  to  the 
eastward  continued,  Tobolsk  gained  in  importance,  so 
that  from  16073  to  1629  it  was  the  only  center  of  ad- 
ministration, having  a  seal  and  other  insignia  of  office, 
which  other  cities  did  not  secure  until  1635.*  In  1629 
Tomsk  was  selected  as  an  additional  seat  of  govern- 
ment. These  two  cities  had  a  number  of  smaller  cities 
under  them,  governed  by  local  woewods  subject  to  the 
orders  of  their  superiors  at  Tobolsk  or  Tomsk  who,  in 
turn,  were  responsible  to  the  Sibirski  Prikaz  at  Mos- 
cow. This  system  did  not  work  harmoniously  owing  to 
the  envious  feeling  existing  between  the  officers  of  the 
two  districts.  The  boundary  lines  had  not  yet  been 
sharply  defined  which  led  to  numerous  conflicts  of  jur- 
isdiction, and  it  happened  not  infrequently  that  parties 
of  tribute  gatherers  representing  different  districts,  on 
meeting  in  some  native  village,  would  have  a  fight  to 
determine  who  should  carry  off  the  tribute.  The  na- 
tives suffered  the  most  because  they  were  made  to  pay 
two  and  three  times. 

For  this  inefficient  government  the  authorities  at 
Moscow  were  in  part  to  blame.  The  importance  of 
this  newly  acquired  region  was  not  fully  appreciated 

3  Andrievich,  V.  K.     Istoria  Sibiri,  vol.  i,  113. 

4  Butsinski,  P.     Zaselenie  Sibiri,  233. 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  EASTERN  SIBERIA         19 

and  no  clearly  defined  plan  for  its  government  had  been 
formed.  Siberia  was  administered  by  one  of  the  bureaus 
of  foreign  affairs  [Posolski  Prikaz]  until  1599,5  when 
it  was  transferred  to  the  department  which  looked  after 
the  government  of  Kazan.6  In  1637  it  finally  became 
an  independent  bureau  known  as  the  Sibirski  Prikaz 
with  a  head  and  staff  of  its  own.7  From  this  office  at 
Moscow  all  orders  were  issued  and  officers  appointed 
and  to  it  reports  and  tribute  were  sent.  It  was  found 
advisable  in  1670  to  have  but  one  central  office  in  Si- 
beria, and  Tobolsk  was  once  more  given  the  preference. 
Her  woewod  thus  became  the  leading  Siberian  officer 
to  whom  matters  of  lesser  importance  were  referred  by 
the  woewods  of  the  various  provinces;  but  more  serious 
questions  were  taken  up,  as  before,  with  Moscow.  This 
system  was  in  force  until  1708  when  Peter  the  Great 
reorganized  Siberia  according  to  the  ideas  of  western 
Europe. 

The  chief  officer8  of  the  province  was  the  woewod 

5  Ezhenesyachinia  Sochinenia  i  Isvestia  O  Uchenich  Delach,  part  i,  523. 

6  —  Ibid. 

''  —  Ibid.,  526. 

8  In  order  that  one  may  get  an  idea  of  the  quality  of  the  administration, 
and  before  taking  up  the  duties  of  the  Siberian  officers  in  detail,  something 
should  be  said  of  their  character.  Were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  evidence 
on  this  point  is  uncontradictory  one  could  hardly  believe  that  these  men  were 
as  low  and  as  depraved  as  the  contemporary  literature  pictures  them.  They 
were  without  the  fear  of  God  and  without  the  feelings  of  shame.  They  traded, 
gambled,  mortgaged,  and  sold  their  wives  and  daughters  as  if  they  were 
chattel  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  viii,  doc.  44,  158].  The 
traffic  in  women  was  carried  on  publicly  [Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi 
Imperii,  vol.  iii,  doc.  1601]  and  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  the  government 
received  ten  per  cent  as  it  did  from  the  sale  of  ordinary  merchandise  [Butsin- 
ski,  P.  Zaselenie  Sibiri,  139].  Other  forms  of  vice  were  even  less  concealed. 
Although  aware  of  this  demoralizing  state  of  affairs,  the  government  was  not 
in  a  position  to  put  an  end  to  it  because  it  could  not  depend  on  the  soldiers, 
who  often  mutinied  and  killed  their  officers,  robbed  whom  they  should  protect, 
and  then  fled  across  the  Chinese  border  and  from  there  carried  on  their  depre- 
dations [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  33,  85;  also  vol.  xii, 


20  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

who  was  appointed  at  first  for  two  years,  but  after  1695 
Peter  extended  the  term  to  four,  five,  six  years,  and  even 
to  a  longer  period.9  Early  in  the  seventeenth  century 
the  woewod  had  complete  control  of  every  department 
of  administration,  but  he  so  abused  his  power  and 
robbed  the  treasury  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  found 
necessary,  in  1623,  to  appoint  a  special  customs  officer, 
golova,  to  have  charge  of  all  the  moneys  and  tribute  and 
to  act  as  a  check  on  the  woewod.10  But  neither  this  nor 
any  of  the  other  devices  that  were  tried  to  keep  the 
woewod  from  stealing  were  successful.11  When  he 
came  into  Siberia  he  was  accompanied  by  his  family 
and  friends,  all  of  whom  were  bent  on  making  their 
fortunes.  By  every  legal  and  illegal  means  in  his  power 
he  aided  them,  and  they  in  return  were  not  ungrateful 
for  his  favors.12 


dec.  4,  13].  If  caught  and  brought  back  two  or  three  were  punished  by  hav- 
ing their  noses  cut  off  and  the  remainder  were  reinstated  in  service  [Dopolnenia 
K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  33,  85]. 

9  Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  iii,  doc.  1511. 

10  Butsinski,  P.     Zaselenie  Sibiri,  235. 

11  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  83,  100.  In  practice  it 
was  found  that  the  golova  joined  with  the  woewod  in  robbing  the  government. 

12  Natives  coming  to  the  posts  with  tribute  were  met  on  the  way  by  the 
woewod  or  those  in  collusion  with  him,  their  best  furs  were  taken  from  them 
and  the  poorest  left  for  the  payment  of  tribute  [Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof 
Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  iii,  doc.  1511].  If  the  native  refused  to  obey  he  was 
beaten  and  deprived  of  his  family  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol. 
viii,  doc.  69,  264].  The  money  and  supplies  with  which  to  pay  the  servants 
of  the  government  passed  through  the  hands  of  the  woewod,  who  often  appro- 
priated a  portion  for  himself  and  forced  the  men  to  sign  a  receipt  for  the  whole 
amount.  It  was  useless  to  sue  him  since  he  was  the  chief  judge  of  the  prov- 
ince, and  complaints  against  him  could  reach  Moscow  only  through  his  suc- 
cessor. On  leaving  his  post  to  return  to  Russia,  the  woewod  was  permitted  to 
export  five  hundred  rubles'  worth  of  fur  and  five  hundred  rubles  in  money  and 
no  more  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  46,  119].  He  got 
around  this  regulation  by  shipping  his  ill-gotten  wealth  through  relatives, 
priests,  and  merchants  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  46,  118], 
or  to  China  for  sale  there  [Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  ii, 
doc.  1578]  ;  if  he  stole  so  much  that  the  amount  of  the  tribute  decreased  notice- 
ably he  reported  to  Moscow  that  on  this  particular  year  fur-bearing  animals 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  EASTERN  SIBERIA         21 

The  duties  of  the  woewod  were  numerous.  As  soon 
as  he  reached  his  post  he  examined  and  counted  every- 
thing on  the  premises  and  gave  a  receipt  for  them  to 
his  predecessor.  When  these  matters  had  been  ar- 
ranged the  old  woewod  departed  for  Moscow  with  all 
the  furs  on  hand,  leaving  the  new  comer  in  full  charge. 
His  next  prescribed  duty  was  to  assemble  successively 
the  officers  and  men  of  the  station,  the  hunters  and 
traders,  the  Russian  settlers  of  the  neighborhood,  and 
finally  the  principal  men  of  the  tribute  paying  natives 
of  the  province.  To  each  of  these  in  turn  he  told  how 
grieved  the  czar  was  that  the  woewod  who  had  just  de- 
parted had  robbed  and  abused  them,  had  not  paid  them 
their  wages,  and  had  not  done  them  justice;  that  from 
now  on  there  should  be  no  more  of  such  evil  doings,  for 
the  czar  had  sent  them  an  honest  woewod  who  would 
look  after  their  welfare.  After  this  speech  he  sent 
them  home  to  work  for  the  czar  with  the  expectation 
of  returning  two  years  hence  to  listen  to  exactly  the 
same  speech.13 

were  hard  to  catch  [Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  ii,  doc. 
1578],  or  he  would  price  the  fur  so  high  as  to  make  it  seem  that  although  the 
number  of  skins  were  less  their  value  was  just  as  great  as  in  previous  years 
[Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  ii,  doc.  1522].  The  follow- 
ing quotation  from  a  contemporary  document  shows  in  what  low  estimation 
the  woewod  was  held.  From  Moscow  instructions  were  sent  to  the  golovas  on 
the  frontier  of  Siberia  that  before  allowing  a  woewod  and  his  party  to  enter 
Russia  they  should  surprise  him  on  the  way  and  make  a  search  for  smuggled 
furs.  They  were  also  told  to  look  "in  the  wagons,  trunks,  baskets,  clothes, 
beds,  pillows,  wine  barrels,  boxes,  in  the  baked  bread  ...  to  search  men  and 
women  without  fear  of  any  one  .  .  .  examine  their  persons,  their  trousers, 
and  note  especially  whether  the  women  have  skins  sewed  in  their  petti- 
coats .  .  .  look  sharp  that  they  do  not  get  away  with  any  furs"  -  Polnoe 
Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  ii,  doc.  1443. 

13  Before  appearing  in  the  presence  of  the  natives,  the  woewod  and  his 
staff  put  on  gorgeous  uniforms  and  glittering  arms  so  as  to  awe  and  make  an 
impression.  In  addition  to  the  harangue  just  noted  this  message  was  added: 
the  czar  had  heard  how  they  had  suffered  from  "the  woewod,  golova,  prikas- 
chiks,  detiboyarski,  atamans,  streltsi,  Cossacks  .    .    .  that  their  wives  and  chil- 


22  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

With  the  exception  of  the  handling  of  the  tribute  and 
the  moneys  coming  in  from  various  sources,  matters 
which  fell  to  the  golova,  all  else  connected  with  the  ad- 
ministration was  under  the  direction  of  the  woewod. 
He  sent  men  to  gather  tribute  and  to  discover  new 
lands.  It  was  his  duty  to  maintain  peace  in  the  prov- 
ince and  to  prevent  lawlessness,  distilling,  drunkenness, 
and  gambling,  which  would  diminish  the  revenue  and 
unfit  the  men  for  service.14 

The  judicial  functions  of  the  woewod  throw  interest- 
ing light  on  the  conception  of  justice  of  the  period. 
He  had  jurisdiction  over  all  civil  cases  and  all  criminal 
cases  except  those  of  capital  punishment,  which  were 
referred  to  Moscow.  There  was  a  graduated  scale  of 
fines  and  fees,  the  payment  of  which  he  was  required 
to  enforce.15  The  liquor  cases  were  very  numerous,  for 
in  order  to  avoid  paying  the  excise  tax  and  the  high 
price  asked  for  liquor,  much  distilling  and  brewing 
was  done  in  secret.  If  caught  the  machinery  and  prod- 
uct were  confiscated  (but  not  wasted),  in  addition  other 
punishments  might  be  inflicted  which  depended  upon 
whether  or  not  the  offenders  had  been  up  on  the  same 

dren  had  been  taken  from  them  and  sold  .  .  .  that  more  tribute  had  been 
collected  than  the  czar  demanded,  and  that  the  woewod  had  not  protected 
them"  -  Dopolnenia  K  Aktatn  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  46,  101. 

14  On  special  occasions  such  as  marriages,  births,  etc.,  and  on  the  payment 
of  two  kopeks  per  gallon,  the  woewod  was  authorized  to  grant  permission  to 
make  beer  and  mead  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  83, 
309-313]. 

15  In  civil  suits  involving  two  to  five  rubles  the  loser  paid  a  fee  of  one- 
tenth  of  the  amount  in  litigation.  If  a  second  trial  was  demanded,  the  loser 
paid  two-tenths  and  the  victor  one-fiftieth.  In  cases  the  amount  of  which  was 
less  than  one  ruble,  the  loser  paid  according  to  the  above  scale  and  the  victor 
was  excused  from  any  payment.  Contracts  of  indenture  of  less  than  ten  rubles 
required  a  fee  of  ten  kopeks  on  the  ruble,  of  more  than  ten  rubles  twenty-five 
kopeks  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  46,  in].  In  cases 
brought  before  court  but  settled  outside  a  payment  of  ten  kopeks  on  the  ruble 
was  required. 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  EASTERN  SIBERIA         23 

charge  before.10  Prisoners  were  kept  in  close  confine- 
ment and  sometimes  tortured.  Petty  criminals  were 
beaten  in  public  with  rods  and  the  more  serious  offend- 
ers with  knouts,  and  if  officials  they  were  dismissed 
from  the  service.17  Other  forms  of  punishment  were 
branding  on  the  cheek,  cutting  off  fingers,  and  slitting 
of  nostrils.18 

The  number  of  men  connected  with  the  service  of  the 
Jakutsk  Province  varied  from  year  to  year,  but  at  no 
time  during  this  period  did  it  reach  a  thousand.  It  was 
difficult  to  persuade  men  to  come  into  this  region  where 
the  work  was  hard  and  dangerous.  The  more  impor- 
tant officers  such  as  the  woewod,  dyak  or  secretary, 
golova  or  scribe,  golova  or  head  customs  officer,  were 
on  a  temporary  appointment,  while  those  below  them 
were  on  a  more  permanent  tenure.19    Closely  associated 

16  When  it  was  a  first  offense  the  maker  and  seller  paid  a  fine  of  five  rubles 
and  the  buyer  and  drinker  paid  twenty-five  kopeks.  For  the  second  offense 
the  maker  and  seller  paid  ten  rubles  and  was  whipped  with  a  rod  about  three 
feet  long  and  the  thickness  of  a  finger  \Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim, 
vol.  iii,  doc.  56,  211].  In  case  of  a  third  offense  the  maker  and  seller  was 
fined  twenty  rubles  and  the  buyer  and  drinker  one  ruble,  and  in  addition  they 
were  both  whipped  with  the  knout  and  were  liable  to  be  put  into  a  dungeon 
\Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  30,  77]. 

17  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc  83,  308;  vol.  xi,  doc. 
II,  27. 

18  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  very  few  criminals  suffered  capital  punishment, 
even  when  guilty  of  killing  superior  officers.  As  a  last  resort  the  prisoner  pe- 
titioned that  instead  of  executing  him,  he  should  be  permitted  to  go  in  search 
of  new  lands  and  tribute.  Such  petitions  were  nearly  always  granted.  It 
was  so  in  the  case  of  Atlasof,  Kozirefski,  and  others. 

19  The  following  list  of  those  on  more  permanent  tenure  is  taken  from  the 
report  of  the  woewod  for  the  year  1675  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim, 
vol.  vi,  doc.  136,  408].  Nine  connected  with  the  church,  twenty-five  deti- 
boyarski,  five  sotniks  [officers  of  a  hundred],  three  atamans  [their  functions 
were  like  those  of  the  sotniks~\,  thirteen  in  the  customs  service  (they  were 
usually  taken  from  the  merchant  class),  sixteen  pyatdesyatniks  [officers  of 
fifty],  forty  desyatniks  [officers  of  ten],  five  hundred  fifty-three  Cossacks,  one 
blacksmith,  two  cannoneers,  two  mechanics.  This  makes  a  total  of  six  hun- 
dred sixty-nine. 


24  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

with  the  woewod  were  the  secretary,  who  was  a  kind  of 
vice-woewod,20  and  the  scribe,  and  they  shared  with  him 
the  fruits  of  his  thefts.  How  the  golova  came  to  exist 
has  already  been  explained,  and  it  is  perhaps  unneces- 
sary to  say  that  he  was  not  as  honest  as  he  might  have 
been.21  Although  the  woewod  could  bring  charges 
against  the  golova,  he  could  not  remove  him  from  of- 
fice.22 About  once  a  month  the  golova  was  required  to 
submit  his  books  and  funds  to  the  woewod  for  exam- 
ination. Of  the  lower  officers  and  their  duties,  which 
are  quite  obvious,  one  need  not  dwell.23  For  faithful 
service  the  men  were  promoted  from  one  grade  to  an- 
other.24 

There  was  no  completely  uniform  scale  of  wages.25 
Married  men  usually  received  more  than  unmarried, 
and  length  of  service  and  efficiency  were  also  determin- 
ing factors.2"  The  difference  between  the  extremes  was 
not  very  great,  and  the  table  offered  here,  which  is  made 
up  from  various  sources,  is  fairly  representative  and 
accurate.  The  wages  of  the  woewod  and  dyak  here 
given  are  not  based  on  as  good  sources  as  those  of  the 
others.  What  the  golova  received  it  is  not  possible  to 
learn.  As  to  the  pyatdesyatnik,  his  wages  must  have 
been  between  that  of  an  ataman's  and  a  desyatnik's. 

20  He  probably  had  charge  of  the  silver  seal  on  which  were  engraved  an 
eagle  holding  a  sable  and  these  words:  "The  seal  of  his  sovereign's  new 
Siberian  dominions  on  the  River  Lena." 

21  He  probably  came  into  Siberia  from  the  coast  cities  of  Russia  and  was 
selected  from  the  merchant  class.  On  his  seal  was  represented  a  panther 
catching  a  sable  and  around  the  edge  were  the  words:  "Seal  of  his  sovereign's 
customs  service  on  the  Lena." 

22  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  36,  no. 

23  A  word  or  two  might  be  said  of  the  deti-boyarski.  They  were  de- 
scendants of  the  petty  nobility  of  Russia,  and  in  Siberia  they  ranked  just  above 
the  sotniks. 

24  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  ii,  doc.  76,  213. 
23 — Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  doc.  42,  96. 

26  Butsinski,  P.     Zaselenie  Sibiri,  248. 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  EASTERN  SIBERIA         25 


Rye  2S     Oats 

Salt      Wine 

Wine 

Honey 

Officers         Ki 

JBLES  -7 

chet-      chet- 
vert        vert 

nuds  (°rdinary) 

puds     buckets 

buckets 

puds 

Woewod 

400 

200  (inc.  oats) 

4OO 

50 

80 

Dyak 

200 

150     "       " 

30 

Golova 

Golova  (of 

Cossacks ) 

IO 

7  (inc.  oats) 

3 

Deti-boyarski 

IO 

10          10 

Sotnik 

9 

8            6 

3 

Ataman 

9 

7            4 

2% 

Pyatdesyatnik 

Desyatnik 

5/2 

5lA         4rA 

Servants 

5 

5             4 

itt 

Over  each  of  the  twenty  or  more  stations  dependent 
on  Jakutsk  was  a  prikaschik,  or  agent,  generally  a  petty 
officer.  In  his  small  circle  the  agent  was  as  supreme  as 
the  woewod,  having  like  powers  and  the  same  judicial 
functions.29  Each  prikaschik  had  under  him  a  number 
of  men,  varying  with  the  importance  of  the  station, 
who  collected  the  tribute,  tolls,  taxes,  and  carried  out 
the  numerous  other  tasks  assigned  to  them.  The  length 
of  service  for  which  the  men  engaged  was  one  year,  but 
for  the  more  distant  stations  they  bound  themselves  for 
two  and  even  three  years. 

At  some  time  in  August  the  prikaschik  with  his  men 
and  supplies  left  Jakutsk,  traveling  by  boats,  horses,  or 
deer,  as  the  condition  of  the  country  and  the  season  per- 

27  One  may  get  an  idea  of  the  actual  value  of  the  ruble  (one  hundred 
kopeks  made  a  ruble)  from  the  price  of  commodities  at  Jakutsk.  In  1657  T6 
sold  for  twenty-five  kopeks  and  salt  fifty  kopeks  the  pud  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam 
Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  46,  100].  All  of  the  grain  came  from  western 
Siberia  and  it  was  the  aim  of  the  government  to  have  a  year's  supply  always 
on  hand,  but  for  various  reasons  this  was  seldom  realized. 

28  A  chetvert  was  a  measure,  the  contents  of  which  when  weighed  varied 
from  four  and  a  half  to  five  puds,  or  between  one  hundred  sixty-two  and  one 
hundred  eighty  pounds  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  viii,  doc. 
25,  69]. 

29  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  vii,  doc.  71,   331. 


26  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

mitted.  When  he  arrived  at  his  post  he  took  an  inven- 
tory of  the  goods  on  hand  and  gave  a  receipt  for  them 
to  the  agent  in  charge,  who  with  his  men  returned  to 
Jakutsk,  taking  the  furs  and  money  that  had  accumu- 
lated during  their  term  of  office.  This  annual  shift  was 
not,  however,  always  possible  on  account  of  the  scarcity 
of  men  and  the  vast  area  to  be  covered.30 

A  station  was  known  either  as  zimovie,  ostrojok,  or 
ostrog.  A  zimovie  was  a  log  cabin  or  underground  hut 
for  winter  use,  and  was  not  unlike  the  present  day  "bar- 
rabaras"  of  the  natives  and  white  hunters  of  Alaska. 
Two  or  more  zimovies  with  some  means  of  defense 
were  known  as  ostrojok.  An  ostrog  was  an  enlarged 
ostrojok  surrounded  by  a  wall.31  Armed  guards  were 
on  duty  night  and  day  to  prevent  the  hostages  from 
escaping  or  committing  suicide  and  to  keep  a  lookout 
for  fire32  which  broke  out  very  frequently.  The  loca- 
tion of  a  zimovie  was  selected  usually  near  the  mouth 

30  The  lack  of  a  sufficient  number  of  well  trained  men  brought  about  loss 
of  life  which  could  have  been  prevented.  The  natives  used  to  waylay  the 
small  parties  of  Russians  and  kill  them.  Even  in  the  matter  of  firearms  the 
Russians  did  not  always  have  the  advantage,  because  the  natives  had  ac- 
quired them  by  barter  and  other  ways,  and  had  become  very  proficient  in  their 
use  \Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  vii,  doc.  71,  331]. 

31  Jakutsk  had  the  largest  ostrog  in  the  province.  The  one  built  in  1684 
was  surrounded  by  four  walls  measuring  four  thousand  feet,  and  on  them 
were  eight  large  watch  towers  \Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x, 
doc.  75,  317].  Within  the  enclosures  were  warehouses  for  different  purposes, 
a  powder  house,  a  home  for  the  woewod,  quarters  for  the  hostages,  a  jail  for 
raskolniks  [heretics],  and  another  jail  for  criminals.  About  five  hundred  feet 
from  the  ostrog  was  the  gorod,  the  settlement  where  the  married  men  and 
traders  lived,  and  about  an  equal  distance  still  farther  east  were  the  church 
and  religious  houses  \Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  xi,  doc.  61, 
187].  In  Remezof's  atlas  there  is  a  crude  drawing  of  Jakutsk  which  is  here 
reproduced. 

32  In  the  summer  time  no  fires  were  permitted  inside  the  buildings  except 
for  the  purpose  of  baking  bread,  and  then  only  on  a  damp  day  with  plenty  of 
water  near  at  hand  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  46,  116; 
Akti  Istoricheskie,  vol.  iv,  doc.  246,  526]. 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  EASTERN  SIBERIA         27 

of  a  stream  or  near  a  watershed  so  as  to  be  easily  acces- 
sible. Hunters,  however,  built  theirs  on  high  ground 
where  the  best  sables  were  to  be  had. 

One  of  the  great  problems  of  the  administration  was 
how  to  get  a  great  deal  of  tribute  out  of  the  natives  and 
yet  keep  them  in  peace  and  alive.  Once  or  twice  a  year 
the  prikaschik  sent  out  a  company  of  armed  men,  ac- 
companied by  a  tselovalnik,33  to  collect  tribute  from 
those  who  were  willing  to  pay  and  to  fight  those  who 
were  not.34  When  in  the  presence  of  the  natives,  the 
officer  in  command  summoned  them  to  submit  and  pay 
tribute.35  If  they  consented  they  at  once  delivered  hos- 
tages. If  they  refused  war  was  made  upon  them,  the 
men  were  killed  and  the  women  and  children  were 
divided  up  among  the  Cossacks.36 

On  account  of  this  harsh  treatment  there  were  many 
uprisings  and  flights  into  Chinese  territory.37  Small- 
pox and  venereal  diseases  killed  off  a  great  many  others, 
leaving  a  still  heavier  burden  on  the  survivors  who  had 
to  pay  for  the  living  and  the  dead.38    If  the  native  had 

33  The  tselovalnik  sustained  the  same  relation  to  the  prikaschik  that  the 
golova  did  to  the  woewod.  He  took  his  name  from  the  act  of  kissing  the 
Testament  on  taking  office.  He  was  expected  to  know  how  to  write  so  as  to 
be  able  to  sign  receipts. 

34  Those  who  took  part  in  these  expeditions  were  not  generally  allowed  to 
trade  with  the  natives  on  their  own  account.  But  if  they  honestly  acquired 
some  pelts,  either  by  barter  or  by  hunting,  the  government  took  them  off  their 
hands  and  paid  them  at  Jakutsk  according  to  Siberian  prices  [Dopolnenia  K 
Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  30,  73]. 

35  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  83,  310. 

36  "And  in  this  fight  we  took  from  the  Tungus  B.  his  two  daughters  A. 
and  N.  After  dividing  up,  A.  went  to  the  trader  Shaposhnik  and  N.  to  the 
hunter  Chiruche.  The  wife  of  the  Tungus  U.  was  given  to  the  hunter  Pilikin, 
the  daughter  of  the  Tungus  M.  to  the  Pyatdesyatnik  Michaelof,  K's  daughter 
to  Matveef,  K's  wife  to  Werchote,  B's  wife  to  Federof.  A  Tungus  boy  about 
seven  was  handed  over  to  Trishka,  another  about  five  went  to  Missalof," 
etc.     .     .    -Ibid.,  vol.  viii,  doc.  44,  175. 

37  Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  iii,  doc.  1526. 

38  Dopolnenia    K    Aktam   Istoricheskim,   vol.    viii,    doc.    3,    17.     Although 


28  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

no  skins  of  any  kind  he  was  obliged  to  buy  them  in  the 
open  market;  if  he  had  neither  skins  nor  money  he  was 
locked  up.39  He  was  forbidden  to  sell  his  furs  to  others 
than  Russians.40  He  had  the  privilege  of  becoming  a 
Christian  and  entering  the  service  of  the  czar;41  and 
the  unions  of  the  baptized  native  women  with  the  Rus- 
sians were  blessed  with  a  marriage  ceremony.42 

In  theory  each  community  was  required  to  pay  a 
definite  amount  of  tribute,  in  practice  the  collectors  de- 
manded and  obtained  more  than  the  legally  required 
quantity  which  they  kept  for  themselves.  In  addition 
to  the  tribute,  the  natives  were  also  asked  to  offer  gifts. 
The  list  below  is  taken  from  the  report  of  the  Jakutsk 
woewod  for  the  year  1675.43  He  says  that  there  were 
at  that  time  twenty-two  stations  and  thirty-five  Jakut 
permanent  settlements  under  his  jurisdiction.  From 
these  figures  it  will  be  seen  that  the  tribute  was  not  very 
oppressive,  considering  that  there  were  still  a  great 
many  fur-bearing  animals.  The  hardships  came,  as 
already  noted,  from  the  illegal  demands  of  the  col- 
lector. 

Station  Nativfs       "°"  °^     S  hi       Foxes  Foxes  Foxes  Serv-  Hos-Servants 

Natives  Red   Black  Cross    ants  tages  Needed 

Olekminsk     Jakuts44      206       377       30       I  11 

Charinsk  & 

Ustpatansk  Tungus        137       356  11       6 

money  was  not  generally  received  in  place  of  skins,  yet  one  kind  of  skin  might 
be  substituted  for  another,  the  relative  value  of  the  two  being  determined  by 
the  tselovalnik.  For  instance,  if  a  Jakut  had  no  sables  but  had  foxes  the 
tselovalnik  priced  and  took  enough  foxes  to  make  up  for  the  sables.  His 
prices  were,  however,  always  far  below  those  offered  by  the  trader,  but  in 
making  his  reports  he  valued  them  almost  according  to  Moscow  prices,  man- 
aging in  this  way  to  keep  a  number  of  skins  for  himself  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam 
Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  46,  117]. 

39  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  viii,  doc.  3,   19. 

40  This  regulation  was  to  prevent  trade  with  the  Chinese. 

41  Probably  at  a  lower  salary  than  the  Russians. 

42  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoriclieskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  83,  311. 

43  —  Ibid.,  vol.  vi,  doc.   136,  401-408. 

44  Jakuts  were  not  required  to  give  hostages. 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  EASTERN  SIBERIA 


29 


Station 

Natives       , 

No.  of 
Natives 

Sables 

Foxes  Foxes  Foxes  Serv- 
Red   Black  Cross    ants  1 

Hos-Servants 
tages  Needed 

Maiskoi 

Tungus 

258 

531 

20 

13 

100 

Toutorsk 

Yukagir 

93 

186 

H 

7 

20 

Butlask 

Yukagir 

120 

188 

32 

5 

Wiluisk 

Upper 

Jakuts  and 

Tungus 

393 

655 

62                   I 

15 

10 

30 

Middle 

Jakuts  and 

Tungus 

488 

352 

285                    2 

8 

5 

15 

Lower 

Jakuts  and 

Tungus 

124 

45 

114                    2 

5 

Zigansk 

Jakuts  and 

Tungus 

332 

378 

89 

14 

1 

Olensk 

Tungus 

49 

93 

3 

7 

3 

10 

Okhotsk 

Tungus 

1 1 72 

2400 

44 

70 

150 

Jansk 

Upper 

Yukagirs 

195 

422 

50 

6 

Lower 

Yukagirs 

64 

152 

10 

8 

15 

Indigirsk 

Upper 

Yukagirs 

86 

441 

1 

Middle 

Yukagirs 

32 

274 

.6 

40 

60 

Lower 

Yukagirs 

57 

348 

J 

Lazesk 

Yukagirs 

46 

321 

Koluimsk 

Upper 

Yukagirs 

43 

328 

1 

Middle 

Yukagirs 

25 

204 

^20 

25 

60 

Lower 

Yukagirs 

32 

357 

J 

Anaduirsk 

Yukagirs 

3i 

78 

16 

12 

30 

Chodonsk 

Yukagirs 

8 

72 

IO 

3 

20 

Counting  the  thirty-five  Jakut  settlements  there  were 
altogether  ten  thousand  six  hundred  eighty-six  Jakuts, 
Yukagirs,  and  Tungus,  paying  eighteen  thousand,  four 
hundred  fifty  sables,  forty-nine  sable  backs,  eleven 
black  foxes,  fifty-two  cross  foxes,  six  thousand,  two  hun- 
dred eighty-four  red  foxes,  two  brown  foxes,  one  red 
brown  fox,  and  one  fox  coat. 

Traders  were  allowed  to  come  into  Siberia  and  do 
business  there  on  the  payment  of  a  general  license  fee, 


30  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

a  certain  percentage  of  all  the  goods  bought  or  sold, 
and  ten  per  cent  import  and  export  duty.  In  addition 
there  were  numerous  other  restrictions  in  the  matter  of 
buying  and  selling.  Traders  were  carefully  watched, 
their  goods  inspected  at  every  post,  and  fees  and  fines 
were  demanded  at  every  stop.  Liquor,  tobacco,  and 
smuggled  Chinese  goods  they  were  not  allowed  to  sell 
and  certain  kinds  of  furs  they  were  not  permitted  to  buy 
at  all,  while  others  they  could  purchase  only  after  the 
tribute  collector  had  made  his  rounds  and  had  his 
pick.45  Notwithstanding  these  regulations  the  traders 
found  means  to  get  around  them,  and  they  always  had 
the  best  skins,  many  of  them  coming  directly  from  the 
officers  of  the  government.46  The  sale  of  beer,  kwas, 
and  such  drinks,  was  let  to  the  highest  bidder  for  a  term 
of  years.47 

Each  prikaschik  on  bringing  the  annual  tribute  and 
money  from  his  station  to  Jakutsk  submitted  with  it  a 
detailed  list  of  every  article,  stating  where  it  came  from, 
who  collected  it,  whether  it  was  received  as  tribute, 
gift,  or  as  tenths  from  the  traders  and  other  Russians.48 
In  a  similar  way  the  woewod  submitted  his  list  to  the 

45  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  46,  109.  Occasionally 
certain  regions  were  closed  to  the  trader  when  it  was  noticed  that  the  tribute 
fell  off  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  viii,  doc.  69,  270].  For 
special  service  rendered  or  for  other  reasons  the  czar  gave  to  certain  individ- 
uals the  right  to  trade  in  Siberia  without  paying  the  customary  fees  and  tolls 
[Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  93,  234]. 

46  Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  iii,  doc.  1443. 

47  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  sale  of  the  stronger  drinks  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  government  which  received  its  supplies  from  the  distilleries 
at  Tobolsk  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  vii,  doc.  9,  52]. 

48  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  v,  doc.  65,  335.  Here  is  a  par- 
tial report  of  a  two  years'  shipment  from  the  Koluima: 

1765  sables  -  tribute 
1001  sables  -  tenths 
949  sables  -  gifts 
2247  rubles,  etc. 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  EASTERN  SIBERIA         31 

Sibirski  Prikaz  at  Moscow.  To  determine  the  value 
of  the  furs  a  mixed  tribunal49  composed  of  traders  and 
officers,  the  former  predominating,  was  appointed. 
This  body  arranged  the  pelts  into  three  lots,  best,  good, 
and  poor,  and  set  a  price  on  each  according  to  the  mar- 
ket value  in  Siberia,  and  their  signed  statements  were 
forwarded  with  the  furs  to  Moscow.  Once  a  year  the 
woewod  took  in  person  or  sent  by  one  of  his  men  the 
government  stores  to  the  Sibirski  Prikaz.  Not  all  the 
furs,  however,  were  shipped  to  Russia,  some  were  kept 
for  the  Chinese  trade. 


49  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoriclifskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  46,  106. 


II.    RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  TO 

1689 

It  was  very  soon  after  the  Jakutsk  district  was  or- 
ganized that  the  hunters,  in  following  up  the  Lena  to 
its  source  in  the  mountains,  learned  of  the  streams  be- 
yond, the  Shilka  and  the  Dseya.  They  were  told  that 
on  the  banks  of  these  rivers  was  to  be  found  much  grain, 
and  not  a  little  silver.  If  this  news  were  true  it  would 
be  a  great  blessing  for  Jakutsk,  which  often  suffered 
hunger  on  account  of  the  difficulties  of  bringing  grain 
from  Western  Siberia  where  it  was  grown.  If  food 
supplies  could  be  had  on  the  Dseya  the  bread  problem 
would  be  solved,  for  the  question  of  transportation  from 
that  river  down  the  Lena  was  a  comparatively  simple 
one. 

One  of  the  first  reports,  if  not  the  very  first  one,  of 
the  Shilka  and  the  Dseya  was  made  by  Maxim  Pero- 
filyef  at  Jakutsk  in  1641.50  He  gave  as  his  authority  a 
conversation  he  had  with  a  Tungus,  who  from  personal 
observation  knew  the  country,  its  people,  its  agricul- 
tural and  mineral  resources.  This  clew  was  followed 
up  and  twenty  men  were  despatched  that  same  year 
(1641)  among  the  Tungus  on  the  Angara  for  more 
data.  On  their  return  they  laid  before  the  woewod 
articles  made  of  silver,  and  blue  paint,  both  of  which 
they  had  bought  from  the  natives.51  Other  evidences 
came  in  to  confirm  the  first  report:     Ivan  Moskwitin 

50  Chtenia  V  Imperatorskom  Obschestve  Istorii  I  Drevnostei  Rossis kick, 
1861,  book  1. 

51  —  Ibid. 


34  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

and  companions  testified  in  1642  that  in  going  from  the 
Ouda  to  the  sea  (date  of  the  voyage  is  not  given),  in  a 
southerly  direction,  they  met  with  a  Tungus  who  told 
them  of  the  Shilka  and  its  grain  fields.52  Several  of  the 
Jakut  chiefs  when  questioned  replied  in  a  very  positive 
manner  that  grains  and  metals  could  be  had  on  the 
other  side  of  the  mountains  because  the  Tungus  who 
went  there  often  had  told  them  so.  Early  in  1643 
Enalei  Bachteyarof,  bookkeeper  or  scribe  at  Witmsk, 
brought  to  Jakutsk  a  Tungus,  Lawagu,  who  was  so  cer- 
tain that  in  the  valleys  and  hills  of  the  Dseya  and  Shilka 
bread  and  silver  were  to  be  found  that  he  volunteered 
to  guide  a  party  thither,  either  by  the  way  of  the  Aldan 
or  the  Olekma.53  With  all  this  uncontradictory  evi- 
dence before  him,  the  woewod  ordered  Bachteyarof 
and  seventy  men  to  proceed  at  once  (1643)  to  investi- 
gate the  truth  of  these  statements.54  The  leader  proved 
incompetent  and  returned  shortly  without  having  ac- 
complished the  desired  result.55 

While  Bachteyarof  was  on  the  way  more  testimony 
came  in  from  various  sources  confirming  the  earlier  re- 
ports. The  failure  of  the  "thievish"  bookkeeper  did 
not  in  the  least  cool  the  ardor  of  the  woewod,  Peter 
Golowin,  who  fitted  out  another  expedition  even  on  a 
larger  scale.  As  a  leader  of  the  new  company  he  se- 
lected Wasili  Poyarkof,  of  whom  very  little  is  known, 
and  whose  chief  qualification  seems  to  have  been  the 
ability  to  wield  the  pen  and  the  dagger.  With  him 
went  along  one  hundred  twelve  Cossacks,  fifteen  hunters, 
two  clerks  [tselovalniks],  two  interpreters,56  a  guide, 

52  Chtenia  V  Imperatorskom  Obschestve  Istorii  I  Drevnostei  Rossiskich, 
1861,  book  1. 

53  _  Hid, 

54  Akti  Istoricheskie,  vol.  iv,  doc.  31. 

55  Chtenia  V  Imperatorskom  Obschestve  Istorii  I  Drevnostei  Rossiskich, 
1861,  book  1. 

56  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  12,  50. 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  35 

and  a  blacksmith.  Each  man  was  armed  with  a  gun, 
and  in  addition  a  cannon  with  the  necessary  ammuni- 
tion. Some  provisions  were  also  taken  along.  Poyar- 
kof  was  given  full  instructions  how  to  proceed.  From 
Jakutsk  he  was  to  go  up  the  Lena,  the  Aldan  and  its 
branches,  thence  across  the  mountains  to  the  source  of 
the  Dseya  and  down  that  stream  to  the  Shilka.  Of  the 
natives  whom  he  would  find  there  he  should  ask  tribute, 
but  only  a  small  quantity  to  begin  with.  In  case  they 
refused  to  pay,  war  should  be  made  on  them.  Inquiries 
were  to  be  made  as  to  the  relation  of  the  natives  with 
China,  whether  officers  of  that  empire  came  among 
them  and  for  what  purpose. 

Poyarkof  with  his  company  departed  from  Jakutsk 
July  15,  1643,  following  the  route  mapped  out  for  him. 
He  experienced  many  hardships  in  going  up  the  Aldan 
and  its  branches,  and  in  the  rapids  of  one  he  lost  a  boat. 
About  the  first  of  November,  before  he  had  quite 
reached  the  headwaters,  ice  had  formed  in  the  streams 
blocking  further  advance  by  water.  Two  weeks  were 
spent  in  building  a  zimovie  in  which  were  left  the 
heavier  supplies  in  charge  of  forty-three  men.  The 
leader  himself  with  the  remainder  of  his  command 
started  to  cross  the  mountains  about  the  middle  of  No- 
vember and  after  two  weeks'  toil  he  struck  the  Brynda, 
a  branch  of  the  Dseya.  Because  this  region  was  unin- 
habited he  hurried  southward  and  on  December  13 
reached  the  Umlekan  and  camped  there.  On  making 
inquiries  the  Russians  learned  that  barley,  oats,  millet, 
peas,  hemp,  and  buckwheat  grew  on  the  Shilka,  but 
silver,  copper,  lead,  and  blue  paint  were  not  produced 
here  but  purchased  in  China.57  In  his  expectation  to 
find  an  abundance  of  food  Poyarkof  was  disappointed, 

57  Dopotnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  12,  50. 


36  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

and  it  became  necessary  to  forage  for  it  at  once.  Hear- 
ing of  a  Dauri  settlement  not  very  far  from  the  camp, 
seventy  men  were  sent  to  the  place,  and  by  trickery  they 
got  into  their  power  two  of  the  leading  men.  Notwith- 
standing that  they  were  well  treated  the  Russians  in- 
sisted that  they  should  be  admitted  into  the  village. 
When  this  was  refused  they  attempted  to  force  their 
way,  but  were  repulsed,  and  it  was  only  after  much 
difficulty  and  under  cover  of  night  that  they  got  away 
at  all.  On  their  return  to  camp  a  number  of  them  were 
not  admitted,  and  these  lived  close  by  feeding  on  the 
natives  whom  they  killed  from  time  to  time  and  on 
their  fellow  Russians  who  died  of  starvation  or  who 
were  murdered  by  Poyarkof  who  argued  "that  men 
were  cheap,  a  desyatnik  was  worth  five  kopeks  and  a 
private  one  kopek."58 

In  the  spring  the  party  that  had  been  left  on  the 
north  side  of  the  ridge  crossed  over  and  joined  the  main 
body  and  together  they  sailed  down  the  Dseya.  The 
report  of  the  cruelty  and  deceit  which  the  Russians  had 
practiced  on  the  natives  and  their  inhuman  treatment 
of  each  other  preceded  them  down  the  river.  They 
found  the  inhabitants  on  the  alert  and  on  the  defensive, 
and  here  and  there  as  they  came  in  sight  they  were 
greeted  with  the  shout,  "Oh,  you  dirty  cannibals!"59 
Poyarkof  had  to  fight  his  way  down  the  Amur,60  or  run 

58  Dofolnema  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  ill,  doc.  12,  50.  In  the  course 
of  the  winter  fifty  dead  bodies  were  consumed.  Forty  of  the  seventy  died  of 
starvation  and  exposure.  In  the  spring  when  vegetation  made  its  appearance 
and  food  was  more  plentiful,  it  is  charged  that  Poyarkof  ordered  his  favorites 
to  set  fire  to  the  grass  about  the  camp  of  the  starving  men.  On  their  return  to 
Jakutsk,  the  men  accused  Poyarkof  of  the  above  named  crimes.  He  admitted 
the  facts  as  true  but  shifted  the  blame;  the  testimony  of  the  witnesses,  how- 
ever, was  against  him  and  he  was  sent  to  Moscow  for  trial. 

59  —  Ibid. 

60  The  term  "Amur"  was  unknown  until  Poyarkof's  return  when  he  made 
use  of  it  in  his  report.     In  the  instructions  drawn  by  Peter  Golowin   in  1643 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  37 

before  the  hostile  natives,  and  once  a  party  of  twenty- 
seven  men  who  had  gone  ahead  to  explore  were  sur- 
prised and  all  but  two  killed.  It  was  only  when  he  had 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Amur  that  he  found  rest  for 
the  winter  (1644-1645).  By  capturing  three  Giliaks 
he  was  able  to  compel  the  others  to  give  him  tribute 
and  to  supply  him  with  food.  When  the  navigation 
season  opened  he  sailed  northward  and  landed  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Ulja  where  another  winter  was  spent 
(1645-1646),  and  in  the  following  spring  he  went  into 
the  interior  by  way  of  the  Maja  and  the  Aldan,  arriv- 
ing at  Jakutsk  June  12,  1646. 

Poyarkofs  expedition  was  a  success  in  so  far  as  it 
separated  myth  from  fact;  it  determined  in  a  general 
way  what  the  resources  of  the  Amur  and  its  tributaries 
were  and  what  they  were  not.  But  the  harm  he  and  his 
crew  did  to  the  Russian  cause  was  greater  than  the 
good.  Whatever  faults  the  Chinese  tribute  gatherers 
had  they  were  not  guilty  of  such  inhuman  acts  as  the 
Russians  committed,  and  when  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Amur  were  called  upon  to  decide  whom  they  would 
have  as  master  they  never  hesitated  in  their  decision  to 
remain  faithful  to  China. 

Before  the  return  of  Poyarkof  information  about  the 
Shikla  continued  coming  in,  some  of  it  of  importance 
in  determining  a  new  way  to  the  Amur.  The  ascent 
of  the  Aldan  had  been  attempted  and  found  difficult; 
the  route  by  the  way  of  the  Olekma  had  been  suggested 
but  not  yet  tried.  In  1647,  there  came  to  Jakutsk  a 
hunter,  whose  camp  was  at  the  head  waters  of  the  Tu- 
gir,  a  branch  of  the  Olekma,  and  he  gave  a  description 

that  name  is  not  used.  Each  of  the  peoples  through  whose  territories  the  river 
flowed  gave  the  stream  a  different  name  and  this  explains  the  confusion  of 
terms. 


38  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

of  the  country  about  him  and  the  way  to  reach  it.  The 
new  course  recommended  itself  to  the  officers  as  prefer- 
able to  the  one  by  the  Aldan  and  after  a  trial  it  proved 
more  satisfactory.  After  this  date  all  those  who  went 
from  Jakutsk  to  the  Amur  followed  the  Olekma,  while 
those  coming  from  Yenisei  and  other  parts  of  Western 
Siberia  went  by  way  of  Lake  Baikal. 

When  Poyarkof  reached  Jakutsk  Peter  Golowin  was 
out  of  office,  and  his  successor  Pushkin  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  greatly  interested  in  the  exploration  of  the 
Amur.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  when  one  con- 
siders that  the  attempts  so  far  had  proved  costly  and 
the  material  results  were  as  yet  of  no  importance.  The 
few  men  that  the  officer  had  at  his  disposal  could  be 
employed  to  better  advantage  in  Siberia.  Only  one  in- 
significant expedition  was  sent  out  and  that  was  a  fail- 
ure. It  left  in  March,  1649,  and  returned  that  summer, 
having  gone  as  far  as  the  Shilka  without  meeting  more 
than  two  or  three  people.61 

Yarka  Pavlof  Khabarof,  a  man  whose  deeds  have 
been  eloquently  praised  and  after  whom  at  least  one 
city  has  been  named,  made  the  next  expedition  to  the 
Amur.  Very  little  is  known  of  him  before  his  expedi- 
tion and  not  much  more  after  it.62  His  plans  and  the 
energy  with  which  he  carried  them  out  show  him  to 
have  been  a  man  above  the  average  of  his  fellows.  He 
realized  the  ultimate  and,  particularly,  the  immediate 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  conquest  of  the 
Amur,  and  he  was  ready  to  invest  his  time  and  his 
money  in  its  accomplishment,  expecting  to  repay  him- 

61  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  50. 

62  In  1658  instructions  were  given  to  a  man  on  his  way  to  the  Amur  to  make 
use  of  Khabarof  as  guide,  and  in  case  he  refused  to  act  in  that  capacity  he 
should  be  put  into  irons  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  53, 
146]. 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  39 

self  from  the  plunder.  Dimitri  Franzbekof,  the  new 
woewod,  gave  him  his  moral  and  financial  support,  re- 
garding it  no  doubt  as  a  good  venture.63  Pointing  out 
the  fact  that  all  the  previous  efforts  on  the  Amur  had 
proved  fruitless  and  expensive  to  the  government,  Kha- 
barof,  on  March  6,  1649,  petitioned  Franzbekof  to  be 
allowed  to  raise  entirely  at  his  own  expense  a  company 
of  one  hundred  fifty  volunteers,  or  as  many  as  were 
willing  to  enlist  under  his  banner,  for  the  purpose  of 
forcing  the  inhabitants  of  the  Amur  to  pay  tribute.64 
This  request  was,  as  might  have  been  anticipated, 
granted;  it  could  not  have  been  more  than  a  bit  of 
formality,  for  at  the  time  of  petitioning  the  company 
must  have  been  made  up,  judging  from  the  fact  that 
before  the  month  was  over  it  was  already  on  the  way.65 
On  the  march  others,  by  one  means  or  another,  were 
persuaded  to  unite  with  the  band.66  With  such  an  ob- 
ject to  draw  it,  and  such  a  leader  to  guide  it,  one  had 
a  right  to  expect  positive  results  from  this  organiza- 
tion. 

Going  byway  of  the  Olekma,  Khabarof  had  no  great 
difficulty  in  reaching  and  in  crossing  the  mountains. 
Much  to  his  chagrin  he  found  the  country  deserted,  al- 
though but  recently  populated;  everything  about  him 
indicating  that  the  inhabitants  had  fled  at  his  approach. 
He  passed  one  settlement  and  then  another  and  it  was 
only  when  he  came  to  the  third  that  he  perceived  signs 
of  life.  Three  horsemen  were  seen  approaching,  and 
when  they  were  near  enough  they  entered  into  conver- 
sation with  the  Russians  asking  them  who  they  were 
and  why  they  came.    Khabarof  through  his  interpreters 

63  Akti  Istoricheskie,  vol.  iv,  doc.  31,  76. 
ei  —  Ibid.,  68. 

65  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  72. 

66  —  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  doc.  40,  94. 


40  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

replied  most  meekly  that  they  were  traders  on  a  peace- 
ful mission  and  that  they  had  many  presents  to  dis- 
tribute. But  this  game  was  played  out.  "Why  are  you 
trying  to  deceive  us?"  the  horsemen  replied,  "we  know 
you  Cossacks."67  So  deeply  and  so  horribly  had  Poy- 
arkof  s  deeds  impressed  themselves  on  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Amur  that  the  mere  mention  that  "the  Cossacks 
are  coming"  was  enough  to  bring  to  their  minds  pic- 
tures of  torture,  abduction,  death,  and  cannibalism. 
Shortly  before  the  appearance  of  Khabarof,  a  Russian 
in  company  of  three  Tungus  visited  the  Dauri  and  told 
them,  perhaps  out  of  mere  bravado  or  as  a  threat,  that 
five  hundred  Cossacks  were  coming,  closely  fol'owed 
by  many  others,  and  that  these  would  kill,  plunder,  and 
take  their  wives  and  children  prisoners."8  This  ex- 
plains why  the  country  was  deserted.  Khabarof  fol- 
lowed the  riders  for  about  three  days  without  being 
able  to  overtake  them,  passing  en  route  the  fourth  de- 
serted village,  bringing  up  finally  in  a  fifth.  In  one  of 
the  huts  he  found  in  hiding  an  old  woman  whom  he 
tortured  to  make  her  tell  what  she  did  not  know  and 
did  not  understand,  for  much  that  she  said  about  the 
Amur  he  later  discovered  to  be  false.69  Baffled  on 
every  turn  Khabarof  turned  back  to  Jakutsk,  arriving 
May  26,  1650,  and  made  his  report,  which  showed  that 
he  had  not  lost  confidence  in  the  Amur  and  its  possi- 
bilities. He  found  concealed  in  pits  large  stores  of 
grain,  and  he  assured  the  woewod  that  if  the  country 
were  conquered,  for  which  purpose  six  thousand  men 
would  be  necessary,  Jakutsk  could  have  all  the  grain  it 
needed  and  which  could  be  transported  in  two  weeks 
from  the  Dseya.70 

67  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  72,  258. 
es  —  Ibid. 

69  Akti  Istoricheskie,  vol.  iv,  doc.  31,  172. 

70  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  72,  258. 


1/ 


^ 


f  -ia 


HKOHf; 


■ 


w 


i*-^-V 


<^  -Cum*. *< 


1 


T  Sm  \fl 


Jakutsk  about  1675 
[From  Remezofs  Atlas] 


SiL. 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  43 

Khabarof  s  first  effort,  although  fruitless,  was  not  al- 
together in  vain.  He  had  seen  the  country  and  had 
studied  the  conditions  on  the  spot  and  was  therefore 
better  fitted  to  carry  out  his  plans  than  before.  He  re- 
mained at  Jakutsk  just  long  enough  to  strengthen  his 
company  and  to  arrange  for  its  annual  reinforcement, 
and  to  provide  himself  with  cannon.  Horses  he  also 
made  use  of  in  the  campaign  that  followed,  but  whether 
he  took  them  from  Siberia  or  secured  them  on  the 
Amur  is  not  clear.  Thus  equipped,  Khabarof  hurried 
back  across  the  mountains  that  same  summer  (1650) 
and  at  Albasin  came  upon  the  Dauri,  who  were  prob- 
ably not  expecting  him,  and  fought  them  one  day  from 
noon  until  evening.  In  the  end  the  bows  and  arrows 
had  to  give  way,  as  they  had  done  so  often  in  Siberia, 
before  the  firearms,  and  the  natives  fled  leaving  Al- 
basin to  the  Russians  who  occupied  it  and  made  it  their 
headquarters.71  Without  giving  the  discouraged  na- 
tives time  to  recover  from  their  shock,  Khabarof,  on 
that  very  evening,  despatched  one  hundred  thirty-five 
men  in  hot  pursuit.  They  paddled  all  night  in  their 
light  boats  and  early  next  morning  surprised  the  fugi- 
tives who,  at  the  sight  of  the  Siberians,  set  fire  to  their 
dwellings  and  ran  away.  Impeded  by  their  families 
and  their  baggage  the  Russians  had  no  difficulty  in 
catching  up  with  the  Dauri  and  forcing  them  to  fight 
and  give  up  one  hundred  seventeen  head  of  cattle;  and 
with  this  booty  the  conquerors  returned  triumphantly 
to  Albasin.72 

In  knowing  how  to  make  use  of  the  opportunities  of 
the  moment,  Khabarof  showed  himself  an  able  leader. 
He  hurriedly  fortified  Albasin,  leaving  it  in  charge  of 

71  Akti  Istoricheskle,  vol.  iv,  doc.  31,  74. 
"2  —  Ibid. 


44  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

a  small  garrison,  and  with  the  bulk  of  his  men,  draw- 
ing cannon  and  supplies  on  sleds,  he  started,  on  Novem- 
ber 24,  in  pursuit  of  the  demoralized  natives.  On  the 
tenth  day  out  he  came  in  touch  with  a  force  of  Dauri 
horsemen  and  fought  them  all  day  and,  as  the  woewod  in 
his  report  to  Moscow  puts  it,  "against  their  [Russian] 
fighting  and  their  cannon,  they  [Dauri]  could  not 
stand."73  These  successive  defeats  broke  temporarily 
the  resistance  and  spirit  of  the  native  chiefs,  nearly  all 
of  whom  offered  tribute;  and  with  these  sable  skins, 
prisoners,  and  spoils  of  war  the  Siberians  returned  to 
Albasin  for  the  winter.  In  his  report  for  the  year  1650, 
Khabarof  is  enthusiastic  about  the  resources  of  the 
country  and  states  that  at  Albasin  alone  there  was 
enough  grain  on  hand  to  last  five  years,  and  that  the  na- 
tives of  the  Amur  could  be  made  to  supply  a  quantity 
large  enough  to  feed  twenty  thousand  men  or  even  a 
larger  number.74 

On  June  2,  1651,  Khabarof  took  the  field  once  more, 
having  under  him  at  the  time  over  two  hundred75  well 
armed  men,  and,  at  least,  three  cannon.76  His  plan  of 
campaign  was  to  move  quickly  and  take  the  enemy  un- 
awares. For  this  purpose  he  had  built  light  boats  to 
seek,  surprise,  and  engage  the  foe  until  the  heavier 
boats  containing  the  main  force,  the  cannon,  and  the 
horses  should  come  up.77  Four  days  he  sailed  down  the 
river  without  meeting  a  human  being.  As  far  as  he 
could  see  the  settlements  had  been  destroyed  and  the 
inhabitants  had  fled,  repeating  the  tactics  of  1649. 
From  an  old  woman  who  had  been  left  behind  and 


73  Akti  Istoricheskie,  vol.  iv,  doc.  31,  75. 

74  —  Ibid. 

75  Dopolnema  K  Aktam  Istorickeskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  102,  364. 
™  —  Ibid.,  361. 

77  —  Ibid.,  359. 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  45 

whom  he  tortured,  he  obtained  a  clew  which  led  him 
to  several  huts ;  but  at  the  sight  of  the  Russians  the  in- 
mates set  fire  to  their  homes  and  ran  away.  Towards 
sunset  of  the  fourth  day,  Khabarof  surprised  Guigudar, 
a  settlement  sheltering  about  one  thousand  human  be- 
ings, including  women,  children,  and  several  Chinese.78 
All  during  that  summer  night  the  cannon  of  the 
Russians  bombarded  the  walls,  tearing  large  holes  in 
them  and  striking  terror  into  the  hearts  of  the  women 
and  children  who  had  probably  never  before  seen  the 
flash  of  a  gun.  Daybreak  found  the  two  outer  walls  in 
ruins  and  the  panic  stricken  natives  huddled  together 
behind  the  third  and  last  one  which  was  being  rapidly 
knocked  to  pieces.  When  that  frail  defense  was  no 
more  the  natives  attempted  to  escape,  but  it  was  too 
late,  the  enemy  was  upon  them.  The  shouts  of  the  Cos- 
sacks whose  bloodthirsty  appetites  had  been  whetted 
by  a  night  of  excitement  and  fighting  were  drowned  by 
the  cries  of  children  and  women  as  they  were  being 
butchered  or  dragged  into  the  arms  of  the  Cossacks 
whose  hands  were  dripping  with  the  bloods  of  fathers, 
husbands,  and  brothers. 

Listen  to  Khabarof 's  song  of  victory:  "With  God's 
help  .  .  .  we  burned  them,  we  knocked  them  on 
the  head  .  .  .  and  counting  big  and  little  we  killed 
six  hundred  and  sixty  one."79  Of  the  Russians  only 
four  lost  their  lives  and  forty-five  were  temporarily  dis- 
abled, a  small  price  to  pay  for  the  plunder  which  in- 
cluded two  hundred  forty-three  women,  one  hundred 
eighteen  children,  two  hundred  thirty-seven  horses,  and 
one  hundred  thirteen  cattle. 

78  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  361.     These  Chinese  took  no 
active  part  in  the  battle,  saying  they  had  strict  orders  not  to  fight  the  Russians. 
™  —  Ibid.,  360. 


46  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Six  or  seven  weeks  the  victors  rested  at  this  place  en- 
joying their  captives  and  the  good  things  which  they 
had  conquered.  They  were  not  altogether  idle,  for 
they  sent  messengers  in  different  directions  calling  upon 
the  natives  to  pay  tribute  or  suffer  the  fate  of  Guigudar. 
These  threats  had  no  effect,  there  was  still  another  al- 
ternative-flight, and  as  far  as  the  Dseya  the  country 
was  deserted.  Here  and  there  a  straggler  was  caught 
and  tortured  to  reveal  where  the  inhabitants  had  gone. 
By  these  tactics  Khabarof  learned  of  several  inhabited 
villages  near  the  mouth  of  the  Dseya,  and  with  the  light 
boats  he  hurried  to  the  spot  and  surprised  them  so  com- 
pletely that  they  could  neither  fight  nor  run  away.  Cap- 
tives there  were  many:  and  these  pleaded  that  they  had 
just  paid  tribute  to  China  and  had  very  little  left,  but 
they  would  give  up  that  little  to  regain  their  liberty. 
Khabarof  requested  that  a  council  of  the  leading  men 
should  be  called,  and  about  three  hundred  appeared, 
representing,  they  said,  one  thousand  warriors.  They 
promised  all  that  was  asked,  gave  hostages,  offered 
sixty  sables  on  the  spot,  and  undertook  to  furnish  more 
in  the  future.  The  captives  were  put  up  for  ransom, 
bringing  from  forty  to  one  hundred  rubles  a  head,  and 
this  was  one  of  the  sources  of  profit  on  Khabarof's  in- 
vestment. Each  side  expressed  sincerest  friendship  for 
the  other,  the  Dauri  supplied  their  conquerors  with 
food,  visited  them  in  their  camp  and  invited  them  to 
their  homes.  These  acts  of  kindness  misled  Khabarof 
and  he  was  taken  off  his  guard.  On  September  3,  165 1, 
the  inhabitants  in  a  body  stole  out  of  the  village,  leav- 
ing behind  them  two  hostages  and  two  old  women,  who, 
being  unable  to  keep  up,  were  caught  and  brought  back. 
On  the  unfortunate  hostages  the  disappointed  leader 
vented  his  wrath,  torturing  and  burning  them,  without 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  47 

however  succeeding  in  drawing  a  complaint  or  plea  for 
mercy  from  these  painwracked  beings,  who  justified 
the  escape  of  their  friends  and  told  their  torturers  that 
they  were  ready  to  die.so  This  flight  was  a  bad  blow  to 
Khabarof.  Here  he  was  at  the  beginning  of  winter  in 
the  midst  of  a  hostile  and  barren  country.  To  advance 
was  his  only  hope.  He  went  on  board  his  boats  on  Sep- 
tember 7,  to  go  down  the  river,  passing  on  the  way  the 
mouth  of  the  Sungari  and  out  of  the  country  of  the 
pastoral  Ducheri,  killing  many  of  them  and  taking 
their  families  and  property  with  him. 

When  Khabarof  had  come  among  the  fish  eating 
Achani,  he  decided  to  go  no  farther,  and  on  September 
29,  he  pitched  and  fortified  a  camp  probably  near  the 
site  of  the  present  town  of  Khabarofsk.  The  Achani 
showed  themselves  friendly  and  the  Russians  thinking 
they  had  nothing  to  fear  from  them,  sent  one  hundred 
of  their  men  on  the  river  to  fish  for  a  few  days.  In 
their  absence  the  Achani  and  the  Ducheri,  numbering, 
according  to  Khabarof,  eight  hundred  to  a  thousand 
men,  attacked  the  camp  on  October  8.  The  cannon 
and  guns  proved  themselves  once  more  superior  to  the 
bows  and  arrows,  and  the  natives  were  driven  off.  Dur- 
ing the  winter  parties  of  Cossacks  sought  out  their  en- 
campments and  helped  themselves  to  whatever  they 
found. 

Being  well  provided  with  the  necessaries  of  life,  the 
Russians  believed  themselves  safe,  being  quite  ignorant 
that  a  Chinese  army  was  moving  against  them.  Kha- 
barof 's  campaigns  of  1650  and  165 1  had  caused  so 
much  suffering  among  the  Dauri  and  the  Ducheri  that 
they,  in  the  early  fall  or  late  summer  of  165 1,  sent  their 
leading  men  to  the  Chinese  officers  in  charge  of  the 

80  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  363. 


48  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Amur  to  lay  before  them  the  true  state  of  affairs  and  to 
petition  that  China  either  protect  them  or  allow  them 
to  come  under  Russian  jurisdiction.81  Their  petition 
was  forwarded  to  Peking  and  from  there  orders  came 
to  send  an  army  to  drive  out  the  invaders,  and  it  was 
this  army  which  was  now  looking  for  Khabarof.  In 
their  first  fight  against  the  Russians  the  Chinese  blun- 
dered, failing  to  understand  the  quality  of  the  antag- 
onist and  the  meaning  of  the  invasion.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fight  the  Chinese  had  the  best  of  it  and  for 
a  time  it  looked  as  if  they  would  carry  the  ostrog.  It 
may  have  been  that  the  Chinese  commander  was  over 
confident  or  it  may  have  been  in  obedience  to  instruc- 
tions that,  just  about  the  time  when  the  Russians  were 
most  hotly  pressed,  he  ordered  his  soldiers  not  to  kill 
or  injure  the  Cossacks  but  to  take  them  alive.82  This 
was  the  turning  point  in  the  battle.  When  the  Rus- 
sians understood  the  situation  they  determined  not  to 
be  taken  alive  and,  calling  upon  the  holy  saints,  they 
charged  the  Chinese  and  gradually  drove  them  back. 
No  other  result  could  have  been  expected  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. An  army  cannot  be  shot  at  and  not  be 
allowed  to  return  the  deadly  fire  and  yet  retain  the 
field.  The  Chinese  soldiers  became  demoralized  and  re- 
treated, leaving  behind  seventeen  muskets,  two  cannon, 
eight  flags,  eight  hundred  thirty  horses,  and  stores  of 
provisions.  On  the  Russian  side  ten  men  were  killed 
and  seventy-eight  were  wounded.  On  inquiry  among 
the  natives,  an  unreliable  source,  Khabarof  was  told 
that  six  hundred  seventy-six  Chinese  lost  their  lives.83 

81  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  ioi,  358;  doc.  102. 

82  —  Ibid.,  doc.  102,  367. 

*3 — Ibid.  Many  who  have  written  on  this  subject  have  dwelt  on  the 
bravery  of  the  Russians  in  battle  and  the  cowardliness  of  the  Chinese.  There 
is  no  good  evidence  for  the  latter  statement.     It  must  be  remembered  that  all 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  49 

Although  the  Chinese  had  been  forced  to  withdraw 
from  the  field,  their  fight  was  not  without  important 
consequences.  It  checked  the  boldness  of  the  Russians 
and  filled  them  with  fear.  From  now  on  nearly  every 
report  has  a  statement  to  the  effect  that  owing  to  a  rumor 
that  the  Chinese  were  in  the  neighborhood  the  Cossacks 
did  not  dare  to  go  here  or  to  go  there.  This  coupled 
with  the  spirit  of  resistance  which  the  natives  displayed 
once  more  would  lead  one  to  question  whether  the  de- 
feat was  so  overwhelming  as  it  has  been  made  to  appear. 

testimony  bearing  on  these  fights  comes  from  the  Cossacks,  to  whose  glory  it 
would  be  to  rate  their  own  forces  small  and  that  of  the  enemy  large.  But 
even  from  their  statements  some  points  stand  out  to  the  credit  of  the  Chi- 
nese. In  every  open  field  engagement  between  the  soldiers  of  the  two  empires 
the  Chinese  were  victorious.  Out  of  four  places  besieged  they  took  two,  and 
the  reason  they  were  not  more  successful  was  due  probably  to  lack  of  technical 
knowledge  rather  than  to  lack  of  courage.  The  Cossacks  themselves  did  not 
underrate  the  Chinese.  It  is  equally  untrue  that  the  Chinese  were  over- 
whelmingly superior  in  numbers.  The  estimates  on  which  these  figures  are 
founded  are  not  reliable  since  they  are  nothing  more  than  vague  rumors  given 
out  by  ignorant  natives,  whose  conception  of  numbers  is  limited,  at  the  very 
best,  to  hundreds.  On  the  other  hand  it  should  be  pointed  out  that  the  Rus- 
sians had  a  great  advantage  in  military  equipment,  every  one  of  their  men 
had  a  gun,  while  the  rank  and  file  of  the  enemy  was  armed  with  a  bow  and 
arrow.  The  Chinese  were  not  always  superior  in  numbers.  In  one  in- 
stance forty  of  their  soldiers  fought  off  three  hundred  Russians  until  thirty  of 
the  Chinese  were  killed,  nine  escaped,  and  one  was  captured.  In  this  par- 
ticular fight  the  whole  Chinese  force,  according  to  the  testimony  of  a  captive 
and  reported  by  Khabarof,  including  natives  of  the  Amur  and  servants  (a 
considerable  proportion  who  did  not  fight)  numbered  fifteen  hundred  (pos- 
sibly two  thousand  but  rather  doubtful).  As  to  equipment  it  had  six  cannon, 
thirty  muskets,  eight  powder  bombs  for  blowing  up  the  walls.  On  the  side 
of  the  Russians  there  were  two  hundred  six  experienced  fighters  armed  with 
guns,  protected  by  a  strong  fortress,  and  defended  by  three  cannon.  The  Rus- 
sians had  been  resting  during  the  winter  and  they  had  risen  from  a  night's 
sleep  to  fight  the  Chinese  who  had  been  three  winter  months  on  the  march 
and  on  their  feet  the  whole  or  a  good  part  of  the  night  preceding  the  battle. 
When  everything  is  taken  into  consideration,  not  omitting  the  stupidity  of  their 
commander,  the  Chinese  have  very  little  to  be  ashamed  of.  In  nearly  every 
case  when  the  Cossacks  were  defeated  they  gave  as  an  excuse  the  lack  of  am- 
munition. Is  it  not  possible  that  some  similar  cause  forced  the  Chinese  to 
retreat  this  time  ? 


50  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

On  April  22,  Khabarof  left  his  winter  camp  and 
sailed  up  the  Amur,  meeting  on  the  way  a  company  of 
one  hundred  seventeen  Cossacks  with  cannon,  powder, 
lead,  and  other  supplies,  that  had  been  sent  to  him  the 
year  before  from  Jakutsk.84  Khabarof's  victory  over 
the  Chinese  was  his  last  great  achievement  on  the 
Amur.  From  now  on  he  plays  an  insignificant  role, 
due  in  part  to  his  loss  of  control  over  his  men.  When 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Dseya,  on  August  1,  one  hundred 
thirty-six  men  mutinied  and  left  him,  taking  with  them 
a  considerable  part  of  the  plunder  and  tribute.  What 
was  back  of  this  trouble  is  not  clear;  it  may  have  been 
due  to  too  much  prosperity,  or  perhaps  to  inability  to 
divide  the  spoil,  or  some  such  cause.  Khabarof  was 
left  with  two  hundred  twelve  men  and,  strange  as  it 
may  seem,  he  made  no  attempt,  except  by  verbal  per- 
suasion, at  least  so  he  says,  to  force  the  rebels  back  into 
line.  There  are  now  two  plundering  bands,  and  what 
ever  promise  one  made  to  the  natives  the  other  by  its 
acts  gave  it  the  lie. 

Khabarof  was  undoubtedly  the  ablest  of  the  Cossacks 
on  the  Amur.  For  the  period  during  which  he  was  in 
command  he  made  the  power  of  Russia  felt  and  feared 
along  the  whole  of  the  great  river.  He  did,  however, 
very  little  more  than  this.  His  policy,  on  the  whole, 
did  much  harm  to  the  cause  of  his  country.  It  in- 
volved her  in  undertakings  which  she  could  not  at  that 
time  carry  out  successfully.  His  lust  for  wealth  led 
him  to  antagonize  all  the  people  with  whom  he  came 

84  The  party  numbered  originally  one  hundred  forty-four  men.  On  reach- 
ing the  Amur  and  being  unable  to  find  Khabarof,  twenty-seven  of  the  men 
were  sent  ahead  to  look  for  him,  but  they  were  unable  to  locate  him.  On  ac- 
count of  the  hostility  of  the  natives  they  could  not  turn  back  and  were  forced 
to  go  out  to  sea,  and  after  a  time  succeeded  in  reaching  the  Lena  \Dopolnenia 
K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  ioo,  354]. 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  51 

in  contact  and  to  make  friends  with  none.  He  de- 
stroyed the  source  from  which  the  riches  were  to  come, 
for  even  in  his  day  the  Amur  region  was  in  great  part 
deserted.  His  weapons  were  always  force  and  cruelty 
and  never  diplomacy  and  kindness.  It  was  during  his 
administration,  and  originating  in  his  own  command, 
that  lawless  bands  began  terrorizing  the  Amur  and 
plundering  not  only  natives  and  Chinese  but  their 
own  countrymen  as  well. 

In  the  late  summer  or  early  in  September,  1653,  an 
officer  from  Moscow  by  the  name  of  Zinovyef  came  to 
the  Amur  bringing  with  him  reinforcements  in  men 
and  supplies,  also  pay  for  all  hands,  numbering  three 
hundred  twenty  at  that  time.85  On  his  return  to  the 
capital  he  took  Khabarof  with  him;  and  in  his  place  he 
appointed  Onufria  Stepanof,  a  man  in  many  respects 
inferior  to  Khabarof.  At  the  time  of  the  transfer  of 
command  the  little  army  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Dseya 
where  food  was  scarce,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Chi- 
nese government  had  ordered  the  Dauri  to  abandon 
their  fields  and  to  remove  to  the  valleys  of  the  Sungari. 
The  season  being  already  advanced  Stepanof  with  his 
company  sailed  down  the  river  into  the  country  of  the 
Ducheri  from  whom  he  obtained  grain  and  within 
whose  boundaries  he  wintered,  his  camp  being  not  very 
far  from  the  territory  of  the  Giliaks.  In  the  spring  of 
1654  he  retraced  his  course  and  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Sungari  he  was  joined  by  fifty  Cossacks,  giving  him  a 
force  of  three  hundred  seventy  men.  Either  being  ig- 
norant that  Chinese  soldiers  were  on  the  Sungari  or 
perhaps  feeling  himself  strong  enough  to  fight  them, 
Stepanof  entered  on  a  course  which  Khabarof  had  in 
mind  but  did  not  think  it  wise  to  undertake.     On  May 

85  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  122,  526. 


52  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

20,  he  steered  into  the  Sungari  and  sailed  up  that  stream 
for  three  days  without  making  a  stop.  A  Chinese  force 
which  was  at  no  distant  point  hurried  to  meet  him,  hav- 
ing orders  this  time  to  kill.  A  bitter  fight  took  place 
in  which  the  Cossacks  were  defeated  and  forced  to  re- 
treat, claiming  they  did  so  because  they  had  run  out  of 
ammunition.  On  his  way  up  the  Amur,  Stepanof  was 
joined  by  thirty  more  men  from  the  Baikal. 

The  defeat  had  a  bad  effect  on  the  undisciplined  men. 
They  lost  confidence  in  themselves  and  looked  for  Chi- 
nese from  all  directions;  and  the  orders  to  build  sev- 
eral forts  on  the  Dseya  were  not  carried  out  for  fear 
of  the  enemy.  For  the  present  the  most  important 
thing  was  to  find  a  safe  camp  for  the  winter.  A  bluff 
on  the  Khumar  River  seemed  well  adapted  for  that 
purpose,  and  on  this  spot  Khamarsk  was  built  and  dur- 
ing the  fall  and  winter  much  labor  was  spent  to  make 
it  impregnable.86  After  their  victory  the  Chinese  slow- 
ly followed  up  the  Russians  with  the  intention  of  driv- 
ing them  still  further  up  the  stream.  On  March  13, 
1655,  they  came  to  the  new  ostrog  and  besieged  it  until 
April  4,  without  being  able  to  take  it  and  retreated  after 
destroying  the  boats  outside  the  fort.87 

86  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  8,  29. 

87  The  Russians  had  about  four  hundred  men  in  this  fight,  but  there  is  no 
reliable  data  from  which  the  number  of  Chinese  may  be  estimated.  Stepanof 
said  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  8,  29]  there  were  ten 
thousand  of  them,  but  he  had  no  means  of  knowing.  In  1684  the  Russians 
boasted  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  244]  that  at  this 
siege  there  were  three  hundred  Cossacks  and  fifty  thousand  Chinese  soldiers 
nearly  all  of  whom  were  killed  by  Stepanof.  Both  of  these  claims  merely 
show  how  little  reliance  can  be  placed  on  them.  In  none  of  the  other  sieges 
had  the  Chinese  as  many  as  three  thousand  men.  After  this  repulse  the 
Chinese  attacked  Stepanof  in  1658  with  about  fifteen  hundred  soldiers.  One 
would  naturally  suppose  that  the  force  of  1658,  following,  as  it  did,  a  defeat 
would  be  larger  than  the  one  of  1655,  which  came  after  the  Chinese  victory 
on  Sungari  in   1654. 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  53 

Pushed  on  by  hunger  and  encouraged  by  his  victory 
and  by  the  addition  of  fifty  men,88  Stepanof ,  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  summer,  went  down  the  Amur  and  up  the 
Sungari,  where  he  was  successful  in  the  gathering  of 
grain  enough  to  last  him  during  the  winter  which  he 
spent  among  the  Giliaks.  Having  failed  to  drive  out 
the  Russians  the  Chinese  resolved  to  starve  them  out, 
and  therefore  commanded  the  Ducheri  living  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Sungari  to  burn  their  homes  and  to  settle 
on  the  banks  of  another  stream  in  the  interior,  out  of 
reach  of  the  Cossacks.89  This  move  brought  hardships 
on  Stepanof,  for  it  was  more  and  more  difficult  to  pro- 
vide for  his  little  army.  But  bare  of  food  as  the  Sun- 
gari now  became  it  was  still  better  to  remain  in  this 
neighborhood  where  fish,  if  nothing  better,  could  be 
had,  than  to  go  up  the  stream  where  bands  of  Siberian 
outlaws,  one  of  which  numbered  three  hundred,  were 
in  control,  plundering  on  both  sides  of  the  mountains 
without  distinction  as  to  faith,  color,  or  rank.90  This 
helps  to  explain  why  during  the  years  1656  and  1657 
Stepanof  confined  his  operations  to  the  lower  part  of 
the  stream. 

China  had  in  the  meantime  been  making  prepara- 
tions for  another  struggle  which  took  place  on  the 
Amur,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Sungari,  on  June  30, 
1658.  No  details  of  the  battle  have  come  down,  but 
the  results,  as  a  whole,  are  known.  When  the  fight  was 
over  Stepanof  with  two  hundred  seventy  of  his  men  had 
disappeared,91  two  hundred  twenty  had  escaped,  and 
out  of  this  number  one  hundred  eighty  took  to  the  hills 

88  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  12,  35. 
**  —  Ibid.,  doc.  31,  80. 

90  —  Ibid.,  doc.  10,  doc.  24,  doc  33. 

91  As  to  the  fate  of  Stepanof  and  his  men,  authorities  differ.  The  sources 
[Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  no,  260],  written  by  Pash- 


54  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

and  became  outlaws.92  In  this  one  campaign  the  whole 
Russian  force93  was  wiped  out  and  the  Amur  was  free 
of  Cossacks  as  far  as  Nertchinsk.9* 

The  Russians  did  not  at  once  recover  from  this  blow. 
For  a  time  they  were  compelled  to  limit  their  activities 
to  the  region  of  Nertchinsk  where  they  had  seventy-six 
men  in  the  three  ostrogs,  Irgen,  Telenge,  and  Nert- 
chinsk.95 Early  in  1664,  thirty-six  of  these  deserted  and 
the  remaining  forty  were  besieged  by  the  Mongols.  The 
Tungus,  too,  profited  by  this  state  of  affairs  to  come 
under  the  walls  of  the  ostrogs  to  steal  the  horses  of  the 

kof,  Stepanof's  successor,  say  that  Stepanof  was  taken  alive.  In  Pallas's  Neue 
Nordische  Beytrage,  vol  ii,  doc.  215,  there  is  a  document  intimating  that  these 
men  were  taken  prisoners  and  led  to  Peking  where  they  settled  down  and  mar- 
ried with  the  Chinese.  In  Parker's  China,  page  127,  it  is  stated  that  "the 
Cossack  Stepanof  was  killed  by  the  Manchu  troops  in  1658;  and  this  event  is 
also  recorded  by  the  Chinese."  A  Russian  writer  claims,  without  giving  his 
authority,  that  just  before  the  fight  a  large  part  of  Stepanof's  men  deserted 
him ;  but  he  with  the  remainder  of  the  loyal  troops  fought  until  they  were  all 
killed.  This  deed  the  writer  compares  with  that  of  Leonidas  and  the  Three 
Hundred  \Vestnik  Imperatorskavo  Russkavo  Geograficheskavo  Obschestva, 
1853,  part  7]. 

92  They  refused  to  join  the  forces  of  the  new  woewod  and  went  down  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Amur.  There  they  fell  in  with  a  company  of  Manchu  sol- 
diers and  were  almost  annihilated.  A  few  escaped  to  Siberia  to  tell  the  story 
[Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  no,  260]. 

93  When  the  fight  started  Stepanof  had  five  hundred  men.  A  Cossack  who 
survived  the  battle  said  that  the  Chinese  force  came  in  forty-seven  junks. 
These  boats  accommodated,  whenever  figures  are  given,  from  twenty  to  forty 
persons,  thirty  would  probably  be  a  fair  average.  This  would  make  the  num- 
ber of  Chinese,  including  crews  and  servants,  about  fourteen  hundred. 
There  was,  however,  this  difference  between  the  two  armies.  Every  one  in 
the  Russian  camp  was  a  fighter,  while  a  large  number  of  those  in  the  Chinese 
army  were  non-combatants,  crews,  servants,  etc.  Of  the  three  thousand  men 
in  the  Chinese  army  that  went  up  to  Nertchinsk  in  1689  not  more  than  fifteen 
hundred  were  soldiers  [Du  Halde,  China,  vol.  ii,  308]. 

9*  This  post  [Vestnik  I  mperatorskavo  Risskavo  Geograficheskavo  Obs- 
chestva,  1853,  part  7]  had  just  been  built  by  Afanase  Pashkof,  the  woewod, 
who  was  the  first  to  bear  that  title  on  the  Amur,  and  who  arrived  in  1658,  but 
not  soon  enough  for  his  messengers  to  reach  Stepanof  asking  him  to  come  up 
the  stream. 

95  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Isioricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  116,  doc.  133. 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  55 

Cossacks.  During  the  three  or  four  years  immediately 
succeeding  the  battle  of  1658  the  Chinese  watched  the 
lower  Amur,  and  once  seven  of  their  junks  came  as  far 
as  Tougourski  Gulf  [Okhotsk  Sea]  to  make  inquiries  as 
to  the  movements  of  the  Russians,  and  it  was  rumored 
that  seventy  more  of  their  boats  were  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Amur.96  Finding  the  field  clear,  China  must  have 
concluded  that  her  troubles  from  this  quarter  were  at 
an  end  for  she  withdrew  her  troops.  This  was  a  sad  mis- 
take on  her  part  and  indicates  that  she  had  not  yet  got 
the  measure  of  her  opponent,  who,  left  undisturbed, 
gradually  returned  and  became  stronger  than  ever  be- 
fore. 

By  the  end  of  1664  there  were  one  hundred  twenty- 
four  Russians  in  the  neighborhood  of  Nertchinsk,97  and 
during  each  succeeding  year  their  number  was  greatly 
augmented.  A  noticeable  addition  came  from  an  un- 
expected quarter  and  was  the  cause  of  much  of  the 
trouble  that  followed.  Early  in  the  sixties  Nikifor 
Chernigofski  and  other  Cossacks  of  Ilimsk  killed  the 
woewod  of  that  place  and  fled  across  the  mountains  and 
settled  and  fortified  Albasin.  Other  criminals  enlisted 
under  their  banner,  bringing  up  their  number  to  three 
hundred.  Without  consulting  the  woewod  at  Nert- 
chinsk, Nikifor  sent  his  men  to  extort  tribute  from  the 
Dauri  and  the  Ducheri.  They  appealed  to  China  for 
help,  and  she  sent  officers  to  the  woewod  at  Nertchinsk, 
asking  him  to  stop  this  lawlessness.98  The  woewod  was 
quite  helpless  in  the  matter.  All  he  did  was  to  de- 
spatch a  mission  to  Peking  in  1670.  It  returned  loaded 
with  presents  for  themselves  and  the  czar  and  with  re- 

96  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  122,  278-279. 

97  —  Ibid.,  doc.  15,  85. 

98  Akti  Istoricheskie,  vol.  iv,  doc  210. 


56  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

quests  that  the  men  of  Albasin  should  not  harm  the 
natives.  But  neither  the  Nertchinsk  woewod  nor  any 
other  officer  had  any  influence  at  Albasin." 

Another  cause  leading  up  to  the  war  was  the  renewed 
attempt  of  Russia  to  expand  and  to  colonize.100  In  1681 
an  ostrog  was  put  up  on  the  Arguni,  the  first  one  in  that 
region.101  That  same  year  ostrogs  were  built  on  the 
Dseya  and  its  branches,  interfering  greatly  with  the 
Chinese  hunters  and  traders.102  China  remonstrated 
but  was  loath  to  act.103  In  1683  a  party  from  Albasin 
found  on  the  Bureya  River  twenty  Chinese  hunters  and 
traders  and  burned  them  alive  in  their  huts  and  carried 
off  whatever  property  they  had.104  There  were  other 
matters  which  irritated  China  and  finally  drove  her  to 
take  up  arms.  The  presence  of  a  foreign  lawless  pop- 
ulation within  her  borders  brought  it  about  that  many 
of  her  own  criminals  fled  to  Albasin  where  they  were 
protected.105  It  became  also  at  times  difficult  to  gather 
tribute  from  certain  native  tribes  who  tried  to  play  off 
one  government  against  the  other.108 

99  On  his  return  from  China  in  1677  the  Russian  envoy,  Nikolai  Spafaria, 
sent  word  to  the  Albasin  robbers  not  to  go  down  the  Amur,  and  asked  them  to 
desist  from  encroaching  on  the  territory  of  the  Dauri,  which  acts,  he  said, 
were  not  authorized  by  the  czar  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  vii, 
doc  67].  They  respected  his  message  no  more  than  they  did  that  of  the 
woewod. 

100  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  viii,  doc.  109.  In  1681  seven- 
teen families  of  criminals  were  taken  to  Nertchinsk  and  put  to  till  the  soil. 
This  was  the  first  attempt  of  the  Russians  to  farm  on  a  large  scale.  These 
colonists  claimed  they  were  not  successful  on  account  of  the  climate,  insects, 
and  the  poor  tools  and  animals  furnished  by  the  government  [Dopolnenia  K 
Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  57].  Albasin  seems  to  have  been  better 
adapted  for  agriculture,  but  the  lawless  population  of  that  region  stood  in  the 
way  of  honest  toil   [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  231]. 

101  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  viii,  doc.  101,  235. 

102  —  Ibid.,  vol.  ix,  doc.  104,  214. 

103  Parker.     China  and  Russia,  17. 

104  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  227. 

105  Parker.     China  and  Russia,  17. 

106  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  ix,  doc.  100,  208. 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  57 

Before  going  to  war  China  tried  by  peaceful  means 
to  persuade  the  Cossacks  to  give  up  the  Chinese  out- 
laws, to  be  more  merciful  to  the  natives,107  and  to  go 
back  to  Russia  or  to  accept  asylum  in  China.108  Twice, 
in  1 68 1  and  1682,  China  sent  messengers  to  Nertchinsk 
asking  for  a  conference.109  At  the  same  time  a  letter 
was  despatched  to  Albasin,110  complaining  of  the  cruel- 
ty of  the  inhabitants  and  asking  that  they  withdraw 
into  their  own  country.111  Whenever  Russians  fell  into 
their  hands,  the  Chinese  invariably  treated  them  kindly 
and  sent  them  back,  sometimes  with  letters  to  their  own 
people.  But  neither  these  acts  of  goodness,  nor  the 
entreaties,  nor  the  letters  to  Moscow112  succeeded  in 
bringing  satisfactory  results.  The  inhabitants  of  Al- 
basin not  only  did  not  fear  the  woewod  at  Nertchinsk 
and  the  power  which  he  represented,  but  they  openly 
defied  and  threatened  him.113 

Realizing  that  kind  words  were  to  no  purpose,  China 
began  at  last  to  prepare  to  act.114  About  1682  the  Mon- 
gols near  Nertchinsk  became  aggressive  and  demanded 
that  the  Russians  should  give  back  to  them  the  Bur- 

107  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  viii,  doc.  104,  330. 

108  Parker.     China  and  Russia,  17. 

109  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  227. 
ii°  —  Ibid. 

111  The  question  of  the  title  to  Albasin,  which  up  to  this  time  had  not  been 
raised,  was  now  brought  to  the  front.  If  the  Russians  had  been  willing  to 
live  peaceably  it  is  doubtful  whether  China  would  have  attempted  to  drive 
them  out  of  Albasin. 

112  Parker.     China  and  Russia,  17. 

113  In  1682  a  number  of  Nertchinsk  tribute  gatherers  on  their  way  home 
from  the  Dseya  were  attacked  and  robbed  by  the  Albasin  Cossacks.  Taking 
advantage  of  the  opportunity,  they  sent  a  message  to  the  woewod  at  Nert- 
chinsk that  they  would  kill  him  if  good  fortune  should  send  him  their  way 
{Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  ix,  doc.  104]. 

114  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  ix,  doc.  100,  208.  By  1682  the 
Cossacks  of  Nertchinsk  and  Albasin  were  already  discussing  the  coming  war 
and  writing  to  Jakutsk  and  Moscow  for  help. 


58  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

iats.115  It  was  generally  understood  that  there  was  some 
kind  of  a  secret  understanding  between  the  Mongols 
and  the  Chinese.116  Spies  were  sent  to  the  Russian 
camp,  representing  themselves  as  hunters117  or  as  de- 
serters. These  were  pursued  to  Albasin  by  Chinese 
army  officers  who  demanded  their  return  and,  taking 
advantage  of  the  occasion,  examined  the  fortifications.118 
Inquiries  were  also  made  of  the  natives  as  to  the  strength 
of  the  Russians.  The  first  authentic  news  of  the  Chi- 
nese army  came  in  1683  when  sixty-seven  Albasin  Cos- 
sacks ran  into  a  Chinese  force  on  the  Bureya  River.119 
A  number  of  Russians  were  taken  prisoners  and  kindly 
treated,  tempting  offers  being  made  to  enlist  them  into 
the  Chinese  army,  where  a  number  of  other  Russians 
were  already  serving.120  On  the  Dseya  and  below  it 
forts  were  erected  to  prevent  the  Russians  from  going 
down  the  river.121 

On  June  12,  1685,  the  Chinese  army  planted  its  stand- 
ard before  Albasin  and  surrounded  the  place.122  Ac- 
cording to  Muller  one  hundred  Russians  lost  their  lives 

115  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  242. 

116  —  Ibid.,  vol.  ix,  doc.  ioo,  208.  There  is  some  ground  for  this  belief. 
About  the  time  that  the  Chinese  besieged  Albasin  the  Mongols  threatened 
Nertchinsk. 

117  Parker.     China  and  Russia,  17. 

118  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67. 

119  _  Hid. 

120 —  Ibid.  The  Chinese  promised  immunity  to  all  those  who  would  not 
fight  against  them.  Several  of  the  captives  were  allowed  to  escape  to  spread 
these  reports.  On  another  occasion  the  Chinese  officers  promised  to  each  Cos- 
sack who  would  enter  their  service  two  wives  and  two  married  Chinamen  and 
their  wives  as  servants  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67, 
261]. 

121  —  Ibid.,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  239. 

122  As  in  other  engagements  it  is  rather  difficult  to  ascertain  with  exactness 
the  size  of  the  two  opposing  forces.  In  1683  there  were  at  Nertchinsk  and 
neighboring  ostrogs  (not  counting  Albasin)  two  hundred  men  [Dopolnenia  K 
Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67],  but  their  number  in  1685  is  not  known. 
One  is  equally  ignorant  as  to  the  population  of  Albasin  at  the  outbreak  of  the 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  59 

during  the  first  day  of  the  siege,123  and  after  several 
days  more  of  ineffectual  resistance  Tolbusin,  the  officer 
in  charge,  yielded  because,  says  Muller124  the  Cossacks 
ran  short  of  ammunition.  The  cannon  and  hostages 
were  left  in  the  hands  of  the  Chinese,  who  allowed  the 
Russians  to  retain  their  side  arms  and  to  withdraw  to 
Nertchinsk,125  and  supplied  horses  and  provisions,  and 
even  arms,   to  those  that  needed  them.126     Instead  of 

war.  Between  1683  and  1685  strong  efforts  were  made  in  Siberia  to  reinforce 
the  posts  on  the  Amur  in  view  of  hostilities  in  the  near  future.  From  Tobolsk 
five  hundred  and  from  Yenisei  one  hundred  thirty  men  were  ordered  to  the 
front  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  240-242],  and  prob- 
ably from  other  points  as  well.  Muller  [Voyages,  vol.  ii,  12]  states,  without 
giving  authority,  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  siege  there  were  inside  the 
fortress  four  hundred  fifty  men.  In  1687,  just  after  the  capitulation,  in  cor- 
respondence between  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  two  empires,  the  fact  was  in- 
cidentally brought  out  by  the  Chinese  that  at  the  time  of  surrender  there  were 
at  Albasin  more  than  one  thousand  Russians  [Du  Halde,  China,  vol.  ii,  286]. 
When  one  comes  to  determine  the  size  of  the  Chinese  force  there  is  no  end  of 
vague  rumors,  some  of  which  have  been  used  as  facts  by  historians.  One  said 
that  nine  thousand  soldiers  were  coming  carrying  provisions  for  twenty  years 
[Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  244].  Another  said  that 
fifteen  thousand  were  ordered  against  Albasin  and  as  many  more  against 
Nertchinsk.  A  third  claimed  that  fifteen  thousand  were  advancing  on  Al- 
basin, twenty-five  thousand  on  Nertchinsk,  in  addition  to  ten  thousand  that 
were  coming  by  water;  and  these  fifty  thousand  men  were  bringing  with  them 
supplies  for  three  years.  Still  another  rumor  was  to  the  effect  that  there  were 
fifteen  thousand  soldiers  in  all,  six  thousand  intended  for  Albasin  and  nine 
thousand  for  Nertchinsk  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67, 
252].  What  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  such  evidence!  There  is,  however, 
something  more  tangible  to  go  on.  After  the  fall  of  Albasin  the  besieging 
force  was  taken  to  Aihun  and  quartered  there  and  the  year  following  was  led 
once  more  against  Albasin.  From  a  Russian  and  a  Chinese  who  had  been 
in  the  camp  of  the  Chinese  army  we  have  testimony  (see  footnote  134)  that 
this  army  numbered  somewhere  between  two  and  three  thousand  men,  inclu- 
ding non-combatants.  In  the  matter  of  equipment  the  Russians  had  probably 
fewer  cannon,  but  had  a  hand  gun  for  each  man,  while  the  Chinese,  although 
having  more  cannon,  had  only  bows  and  arrows. 

123  Muller,  Voyages,  vol.  ii,  125. 

m  —  Ibid. 

125  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  252.  The  reason 
Nertchinsk  was  not  taken  was  because  the  Chinese  Emperor  thought  it  would 
make  a  good  frontier  [Parker,  China  and  Russia,  17]. 

126  Du  Halde.     China,  vol.  ii,  286. 


60  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

leaving  the  army  here  to  prevent  the  Russians  from 
reoccupying  the  place,  the  Chinese  general  destroyed 
Albasin  and  marched  his  troops  to  Aihun,  committing 
another  blunder  which  brought  on  another  campaign, 
much  more  difficult  than  the  one  just  concluded. 

When  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Albasin  reached  Mos- 
cow, instructions  were  despatched  to  the  woewod  at 
Nertchinsk  to  take  under  his  jurisdiction  the  men  of 
Albasin  and  the  government  property,  and  send  Tol- 
busin  to  Yenisei.127  All  this  shows  that  it  was  the  in- 
tention of  the  government  to  abandon  the  post.  But 
before  these  orders  arrived  the  Cossacks  had  taken  mat- 
ters into  their  own  hands.  Tolbusin  and  his  men,  soon 
after  reaching  Nertchinsk,  July  10,  petitioned  to  be  al- 
lowed to  go  back  to  gather  the  harvest  of  grain.  Be- 
fore granting  the  desired  permission  the  woewod  of 
Nertchinsk  ordered  out  his  scouts  to  learn  whether  the 
field  was  clear.  On  their  return  they  reported  that 
Albasin  was  deserted  and  that  the  grain  fields  had  not 
been  disturbed.128  Under  the  circumstances  Tolbusin 
with  a  large  force,  including  soldiers  from  Siberia  and 
Moscow  who  had  just  recently  arrived,  were  instructed 
to  go  down  the  river  and  after  they  had  harvested  the 
crop  they  were  to  build  a  fortress  below  Albasin  on 
some  point  easily  defended.  They  reached  their  des- 
tination August  27,  and  set  to  work  taking  in  the  grain. 
By  the  time  this  was  done  it  was  already  too  late  to  look 
for  a  new  site.  Tolbusin,  therefore,  decided  to  build 
a  new  Albasin  on  the  ruins  of  the  old  one.129  During 
the  winter  all  hands  were  kept  busy  in  erecting  fortifica- 
tions, this  work  being  under  the  supervision  of  a  trained 

127  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  257-258. 

128  —  Ibid.,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  252-253. 
i2*>  —  Ibid. 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  61 

and  experienced  German  military  engineer,  Afanase 
Baiton,  to  whom  great  credit  is  due  for  the  able  defence 
of  the  ostrog.  Feeling  himself  strong  enough  to  defy 
the  Chinese,  Tolbusin,  in  March,  1686,  ordered  a  com- 
pany of  three  hundred  men  to  go  down  the  river  to 
gather  tribute.  At  the  Khumar  they  came  in  touch 
with  forty  Chinese  soldiers  and  in  trying  to  capture 
them  seven  Russians  were  killed  and  thirty-one  wound- 
ed; of  the  Chinese  thirty  lost  their  lives,  nine  escaped, 
and  one  was  taken.  This  captive  said  that  he  and  his 
companions  had  been  sent  to  ascertain  whether  it  was 
really  true  that  the  Russians  had  reestablished  them- 
selves at  Albasin.  He  also  reported  that  China  had 
abandoned  the  small  posts  on  the  Dseya  and  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Amur  and  had  concentrated  all  her 
forces  in  the  new  city  of  Aihun.130 

China  had  to  take  notice  of  this  bold,  defiant,  and 
fearless  challenge  of  the  Russians.  She  ordered  her 
army  to  advance  from  Aihun,  and  on  July  7,  1686,  it 
arrived  before  Albasin  and  surrounded  the  fort  from 
all  sides,  allowing  neither  entrance  nor  exit,  by  land 
or  water.131  A  Cossack  who  left  Albasin  on  July  26 
succeeded  in  getting  through  the  lines,  and  reported  at 
Nertchinsk  that  at  the  time  of  his  departure  there  were 
in  the  fort  eight  hundred  twenty-six  armed  men,  eight 
brass  cannon,  four  cannon  of  another  kind,  one  hundred 
thirteen  puds  (thirty-six  pounds  each)  powder,  sixty 
puds  lead,  one  hundred  forty  hand  granades,  and  other 
war  supplies.132  There  was  enough  food  to  last  a  year, 
and  a  newly  dug  well  supplied  all  the  fresh  water  need- 
ed.133 

130  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  254. 

131  —  Ibid.,  257. 
M  —  Ibid.,  258. 

133  There   were   at  Nertchinsk   about   this  time   three   hundred  ninety-four 


62  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

The  Chinese  fighting  force  numbered  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  siege  about  two  thousand  men,  armed  with 
bows  and  arrows,  and  it  had  between  thirty  and  forty 
cannon.  How  many  Russians  there  were  in  the  fortress 
on  July  7,  the  date  of  the  opening  of  hostilities,  the 
documents  consulted  do  not  say,  a  thousand  would  be 
a  low  estimate.  The  fight  was  a  bitter  and  fierce  one 
and  many  lives  must  have  been  lost  by  July  26,  when 
Tolbusin's  messenger  left  Albasin  and  reported  eight 
hundred  twenty-six.134  From  time  to  time  when  Rus- 
sians fell  into  the  hands  of  the  besiegers  they  sent  them 
to  Albasin  with  a  message  to  the  garrison  that  if  it  would 
abandon  the  place  a  safe  conduct  would  be  granted. 
Late  in  September  a  party  of  seventy  men  from  Nert- 
chinsk  were  sent  to  learn  of  the  situation  but  they  could 

men,  seven  cannon,   sixty-six   puds  powder,   seventy-eight  puds   lead   [Dopol- 
nenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  261-262]. 

134  The  figures  for  the  Chinese  forces  are  drawn  from  two  sources:  a 
Russian  soldier  who  was  held  as  prisoner  among  the  Chinese  and  who  came 
up  with  them  to  Albasin,  said  that  the  Chinese  army  was  transported  in  one 
hundred  fifty  boats,  each  holding  from  twenty  to  forty  men,  including  the 
crew  and  servants  who  were  not  fighters.  They  had  forty  cannon  but  no 
other  firearms.  Three  thousand  horses  followed  along  the  bank,  the  men  in 
the  boats  taking  turns  in  driving  them.  There  were  also  scythes  on  board  to 
cut  the  grain  outside  of  Albasin  so  as  not  to  commit  the  mistake  of  the  year 
before  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  259-260].  These 
figures  correspond  closely  with  those  of  a  Chinese  soldier  captured  by  the  Rus- 
sians. He  told  the  Russian  officers  that  in  the  spring  of  1686  there  were  at 
Aihun  two  thousand  soldiers,  five  hundred  workmen,  and  thirty  cannon 
[Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  255].  There  is  another 
bit  of  evidence  confirming  these  estimates:  to  the  peace  conference  at  Nert- 
chinsk  in  1689,  the  governor  of  Aihun  was  ordered  to  come  with  all  his  sol- 
diers [Du  Halde,  China,  vol.  ii,  307].  He  came  with  fifteen  hundred  soldiers 
and  it  took  a  crew  of  fifteen  hundred  to  bring  them  [Du  Halde,  China,  vol.  ii, 
308].  At  this  time  there  about  four  or  five  hundred  other  soldiers  watching 
Albasin  [Du  Halde,  China,  vol.  ii,  312].  All  this  data  shows  that  there  were 
about  two  thousand  Chinese  soldiers  armed  with  bows  and  arrows  outside  the 
walls,  and  about  half  as  many  soldiers  armed  with  guns  inside.  The  Chinese 
had  the  advantage  of  numbers  and  cannon,  the  Russians  in  guns,  experience, 
and  a  trained  military  engineer. 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  63 

not  approach  close  enough  to  accomplish  their  purpose. 
In  November  news  from  Albasin  came  by  three  men, 
who  had  eluded  the  vigilance  of  the  Chinese,  to  the 
effect  that  the  besieged  were  living  underground,  that 
there  was  enough  food  to  last  until  Easter,  and  that 
water  was  becoming  scarce.  The  saddest  news  was  the 
death  of  Tolbusin,  whose  place  was  being  filled  by 
Baiton.  Several  sorties  had  been  effected  in  which  the 
Russians  with  their  hand  granades  had  killed  a  number 
of  the  enemy.135 

The  siege  lasted  until  May  6,  when  the  Chinese  were 
withdrawn  from  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the 
city,  and  on  August  30,  they  were  removed  still  farther 
from  the  walls.136  This  was  done  at  the  request  of  the 
czar,  who  sent  a  messenger  to  Peking  asking  that  the 
siege  be  raised  and  announcing  the  coming  of  a  special 
plenipotentiary  to  treat  about  the  frontier.137  Upon  the 
receipt  of  this  request,  the  Emperor  of  China  imme- 
diately sent  to  the  front  this  order: 

We  had  no  intention  of  organizing  a  massacre;  our  desire  was 
to  let  them  off  easily.  Sabsu  and  his  colleagues  are  hereby  or- 
dered to  withdraw  their  troops  from  before  Yaksa.  .  .  He 
can  at  the  same  time  notify  the  Locha  inside  the  town  that  they 
are  free  to  pass  in  and  out,  but  must  not  commit  any  depreda- 
tions. The  rest  can  stand  over  until  the  Russian  envoys  ar- 
rive.138 

The  Chinese  general  also  supplied  Baiton  with  pro- 
visions towards  the  beginning  of  the  year  1688.139  On 
November  19,  Stephen  Korowin  was  also  hurried  from 
Moscow  to  ask  the  Emperor  to  name  a  place  where  the 

!35  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67. 

136  Muller,  Voyages,  vol.  ii,  143-145. 

137  Parker,  China  and  Russia,  18. 
™*  —  Ibid. 

139  —  Ibid.,  20. 


64  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

ambassadors  should  meet.140  This  request  was  granted, 
but  for  various  reasons  the  time  and  place  of  meeting 
was  changed  so  that  it  was  not  until  August  22,  1689, 
that  the  plenipotentiaries  of  both  powers  greeted  each 
other  near  Nertchinsk.  The  Russians  proposed  that 
the  Amur  should  be  the  dividing  line  of  the  two  em- 
pires; the  Chinese,  appreciating  the  importance  of  Al- 
basin  and  Nertchinsk,  "because  they  were  in  a  way  a 
key,  through  the  Amur,  Sungari,  and  Hurka  Rivers,  to 
Manchuria  proper,"141  made  a  counter  proposal  that 
the  Russians  should  withdraw  beyond  the  Selenga.  For 
about  two  weeks  conferences  were  held,  the  Jesuits, 
who  were  with  the  Chinese,  taking  a  prominent  part. 
Several  times  it  seemed  as  if  the  negotiations  would  fall 
through  and  war  would  result.  The  show  of  force  by 
the  Chinese  helped  to  bring  matters  to  a  point.  By  the 
treaty  which  was  signed  September  7,  it  was  agreed 
that  Yaksa,  or  Albasin,  should  be  entirely  demolished, 
that  the  Russians  should  withdraw  from  the  Amur, 
and  that  the  ridge  of  the  Stanovoi  Mountains  should 
in  the  future  form  the  boundary  line  of  the  two  em- 
pires.142 

In  looking  back  over  the  period  as  a  whole,  one  is 
struck  by  the  fact  that  the  importance  of  the  Amur  was 
not  fully  understood  by  the  statesmen  of  either  empire. 
At  Moscow  the  problem  was  not  fully  grasped.  The 
conquest  and  administration  of  that  district  was  re- 
garded in  the  same  light  as  that  of  a  province  in  Si- 
beria-it was  left  to  take  care  of  itself.  If  Russia  had 
had  a  definite  plan  of  action  from  the  beginning,  honest 

140  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  x,  doc.  67,  274. 

141  Parker,  China  and  Russia,  19. 

142  The  full  text  of  the  treaty  may  be  found  in  the  "Appendix." 


RUSSIA  AND  CHINA  ON  THE  AMUR  65 


and  able  leaders,  and  a  disciplined  and  less  cruel  force 
to  carry  it  out,  China  could  not  have  driven  her  from 
the  Amur  and  probably  would  not  have  attempted  to 
do  so.  But  all  these  she  lacked;  at  no  time  was  there 
a  clear  and  far  reaching  policy;  the  officers  at  Moscow 
followed  blindly  whatever  opening  her  lawless  bands 
made  instead  of  directing  their  actions.  Not  a  single 
one  of  her  leaders  on  the  Amur  showed  high  class 
statesmanship  or  capacity  other  than  brute  force.  Not 
one  of  them  could  see  farther  into  the  future  than  the 
immediate  acquisition  of  a  pack  of  fur.  Force  which 
succeeded  in  Siberia  was  not  in  itself  sufficient  on  the 
Amur;  a  little  diplomacy  was  also  needed  and  this  her 
officers  did  not  possess.  These  leaders  with  those  un- 
der them  ruined  the  cause  of  Russia.  They  were  phy- 
sically brave  and  fearless  and  had  the  making  of  a  good 
army  if  they  could  have  been  kept  in  control,  but  this 
was  never  realized.  The  men  on  the  Amur  were  dis- 
organized, they  had  no  sense  of  honor,  no  feeling  of 
shame,  no  love  of  country,  no  respect  for  treaties  or 
promises.  Time  and  again  they  turned  against  their 
leaders,  their  comrades,  and  their  nation. 

China,  too,  was  blind  to  the  possible  consequences  of 
Russia's  getting  a  foothold  on  the  Amur.  Until  the 
very  last  she  regarded  the  troubles  on  that  river  in  the 
same  light  as  Tartar  raids.  She  acted  half-heartedly 
and  only  when  forced  to  do  so,  and  never  did  the  work 
thoroughly.  Had  China  displayed  some  of  the  vigor 
and  energy  of  her  antagonists,  the  Amur  question  could 
have  been  settled  in  1658,  at  the  time  of  the  Russian 
disaster.  A  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Dseya,  one  at  Al- 
basin,  and  one  or  two  farther  up  on  the  Amur,  would 
have  kept  the  Cossacks  in  their  place  and  would  have 


66  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

prevented  the  later  troubles.  Only  once  did  China  show 
that  she  profited  by  her  mistakes  and  experience,  and 
that  was  in  1686,  when  her  army  brought  scythes  to 
cut  the  grain  at  Albasin.  The  saddest  reflection  of  all 
is  that  after  these  fifty  years  of  conflict  with  Russia  on 
the  Amur  the  lesson  was  completely  lost  on  China. 


III.  A  CRITICAL  EXAMINATION  OF 
DESHNEFS  VOYAGE 

During  the  years  1630  to  1650  Russia  made  remark- 
able progress  in  Siberian  expansion.  Drawn  by  the 
profitable  fur  trade,  her  hunters  and  Cossacks  pushed 
on  eastwardly  in  search  of  new  rivers  and  peoples  until 
brought  to  a  halt  by  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  Amur 
was  discovered  and  navigated  in  the  early  forties  and 
the  Anaduir  about  a  decade  later.  Jakutsk  was  the 
center  from  which  these  adventurers  started  and  to 
which  they  returned,  bringing  with  them  the  spoils  of 
conquest  and  accounts  of  the  regions  which  they  had 
traversed.  At  this  fort  were  also  to  be  found  men  in- 
terested in  the  geography  of  Siberia,  and  they  have  left 
us  memoirs  dealing  with  various  problems  connected 
therewith.  The  study  of  Siberian  geography  and  car- 
tography was  promoted  by  the  czar,  who,  during  the 
second  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  commissioned 
Siberian  officers  to  go  through  their  districts,  make 
inquiries  and  studies,  and  draw  up  maps,  giving  dis- 
tances between  places  and  other  necessary  details.  The 
memoirs  and  maps  of  Godunof 143  and  Remezof 144  have 
come  down  to  us  and  have  lately  been  published,  and 
Witsen's  excellent  maps,  based  on  Siberian  source  ma- 
terial, have  been  known  since  1687.145  From  all  this 
evidence  it  is  possible  to  get  a  clear  idea  of  the  Siber- 

143Titof.     Siberia  in  the  Seventeenth  Century  (Ymer,  1887). 

144  Remezof.     Tschertezhnaja  Knigi  Sibir. 

145  Map  of  1687,  in  F.  MuIIer's  Remarkable  Maps;  also  in  Witsen's  North 
and  East  Tartary. 


68  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

ians'  geographical  knowledge  of  Siberia,  particularly 
from  about  1650  to  near  the  time  of  Bering. 

If  we  compare  the  Siberian  maps  of  that  time  with 
those  of  today,  we  find  that  the  regions  west  of  the 
Koluima  and  those  of  the  Amur  were  well  known  and 
accurately  enough  indicated.  The  description  of  the 
coast  line  between  these  rivers  is,  however,  very  defec- 
tive. But  even  in  their  errors  the  Siberians  are  agreed 
which  shows  how  general  were  those  views.  Neither 
the  terms  "Chukotski  Peninsula,"  "Chukotski  Cape," 
nor  the  bodies  of  land  which  they  represent  were  known 
in  the  seventeenth  century.  According  to  the  ideas  held 
at  that  time  the  northern  and  eastern  shores  of  Siberia 
met  at  nearly  right  angles  east  of  Shalagski  Cape,  the 
eastern  shore  being  quite  regular.  The  Anaduir,  where- 
ever  mentioned  or  represented,  is  made  to  flow  parallel 
to  the  Koluima  discharging  its  waters  either  into  the 
Amur  Sea  [the  Pacific  Ocean],  or  the  Lena  Sea  [Arctic 
Ocean].  The  memoirs  and  maps  note  two  impassable 
capes -one  south  of  the  Amur  and  the  other  between 
the  Koluima  and  the  Amur.  A  document  of  the  latter 
half  of  the  seventeenth  century  says: 

To  go  from  the  Amur  to  China  is  not  possible  on  account  of  the 

mountain  barrier,  nor  is  it  possible  to  go  around  it  on  account 

of  the  ice. 

A  few  lines  farther  on  one  may  read, 

And  the  river  Anaduir  rises  in  the  mountains  which  continue 
into  the  sea  for  an  unknown  distance.  It  is  impossible  to  go 
around  them  on  account  of  the  ice.  But  one  can  walk  across 
[these  mountains]  in  one  day  and  from  the  summit  view  both 
seas  [Lena  and  Amur].  To  this  [narrow  band  of  mountains] 
one  may  sail  from  the  Koluima  in  a  kotsh  [boat]  in  one  sum- 
mer; but  when  the  ice  blocks  the  way,  it  might  take  two  or 
three  years  and  even  longer.146 

146  Titof.     Siberia  in  the  Seventeenth  Century,  no. 


9 

o 
C 
Z 
o 


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o 

W 
> 

CO 

H 
W 
JO 

55 
CO 

- 

2 
> 


EXAMINATION  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  71 

This  view,  the  impossibility  of  water  communication 
between  the  Koluima  and  the  Anaduir,  should  be  kept 
in  mind,  for  it  is  held  by  all  who  deal  with  this  subject 
during  this  period. 

About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  his- 
torian Muller  wrote  a  book,  based  on  original  manu- 
scripts which  he  found  in  Siberia,  making  positive  as- 
sertions that  in  1648  a  Cossack  by  the  name  of  Deshnef 
went  from  the  Koluima  to  the  Anaduir  by  water.147 
Since  that  time  Deshnef's  name  has  been  written  on  the 
book  of  fame  alongside  that  of  Captain  Cook,  Sir  John 
Franklin,  and  men  of  that  class.  One  no  more  doubts148 
the  exploit  of  Deshnef  than  the  achievement  of  Nor- 
denskjold.  A  deed  so  bold  and  unusual  deserves  a  more 
critical  study  than  it  has  received  so  far,  in  order  that 
it  may  be  known  on  what  foundation  it  rests.  The  doc- 
umentary evidence  consists  of  reports  by  Deshnef  and 
associates,  and  their  interpretation  presents  peculiar 
difficulties,  owing  (a)  to  the  ignorance  of  the  writers, 
the  indefiniteness  of  the  language  and  the  vagueness  of 
the  descriptions,  (b)  the  doubtful  credibility  of  the 
witnesses  whose  lives  were  made  up  of  fighting,  gam- 
bling, robbing,  and  killing,  and  (c)  the  character  of  the 
evidence  which  is  ex-parte.149 

According  to  Deshnef's  own  account,  written  out  in 
1662  at  Jakutsk  for  submission  to  the  czar,  whom  he 
petitions  for  pay,  we  learn  that  Deshnef  was  already 
in  the  government  service  in  1638.     From  1642  to  1646 

147  Muller.  Sammhing  Russischer  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,  5-20  (found  in  the 
Appendix). 

148  Slovtsof  in  his  History  of  Siberia  questioned  the  veracity  of  Deshnef 
and  refused  to  accept  Muller's  account. 

149  A  report  of  a  Siberian  Cossack  reads  something  like  this:  I  left  Jakutsk 
on  such  and  such  a  day,  I  suffered  this  and  that  hardship,  I  fought  and  killed 
so  many  natives,  was  wounded  so  many  times,  and  secured  a  great  amount  of 
tribute;  wherefore  I  pray  that  your  Majesty  may  take  into  consideration  my 


EXAMINATION  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  71 

This  view,  the  impossibility  of  water  communication 
between  the  Koluima  and  the  Anaduir,  should  be  kept 
in  mind,  for  it  is  held  by  all  who  deal  with  this  subject 
during  this  period. 

About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  his- 
torian Muller  wrote  a  book,  based  on  original  manu- 
scripts which  he  found  in  Siberia,  making  positive  as- 
sertions that  in  1648  a  Cossack  by  the  name  of  Deshnef 
went  from  the  Koluima  to  the  Anaduir  by  water.147 
Since  that  time  Deshnef's  name  has  been  written  on  the 
book  of  fame  alongside  that  of  Captain  Cook,  Sir  John 
Franklin,  and  men  of  that  class.  One  no  more  doubts148 
the  exploit  of  Deshnef  than  the  achievement  of  Nor- 
denskjold.  A  deed  so  bold  and  unusual  deserves  a  more 
critical  study  than  it  has  received  so  far,  in  order  that 
it  may  be  known  on  what  foundation  it  rests.  The  doc- 
umentary evidence  consists  of  reports  by  Deshnef  and 
associates,  and  their  interpretation  presents  peculiar 
difficulties,  owing  (a)  to  the  ignorance  of  the  writers, 
the  indefiniteness  of  the  language  and  the  vagueness  of 
the  descriptions,  (b)  the  doubtful  credibility  of  the 
witnesses  whose  lives  were  made  up  of  fighting,  gam- 
bling, robbing,  and  killing,  and  (c)  the  character  of  the 
evidence  which  is  ex-parte.149 

According  to  Deshnef's  own  account,  written  out  in 
1662  at  Jakutsk  for  submission  to  the  czar,  whom  he 
petitions  for  pay,  we  learn  that  Deshnef  was  already 
in  the  government  service  in  1638.     From  1642  to  1646 

147  Muller.  Sammlung  Russischer  Geschickte,  vol.  iii,  5-20  (found  in  the 
Appendix). 

148  Slovtsof  in  his  History  of  Siberia  questioned  the  veracity  of  Deshnef 
and  refused  to  accept  Muller's  account. 

149  A  report  of  a  Siberian  Cossack  reads  something  like  this:  I  left  Jakutsk 
on  such  and  such  a  day,  I  suffered  this  and  that  hardship,  I  fought  and  killed 
so  many  natives,  was  wounded  so  many  times,  and  secured  a  great  amount  of 
tribute;  wherefore  I  pray  that  your  Majesty  may  take  into  consideration  my 


72  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

he  was  associated  with  and  under150  Michaelo  Stadu- 
chin,  with  whom  at  a  later  time  he  had  misunderstand- 
ings. Staduchin  was  one  of  the  first  white  men  to  reach 
the  Koluima,  probably  in  1644,  and  remained  there 
during  the  years  1645  and  1646.151  At  this  place  he 
obtained  information  about  the  Chukchi  and  a  river 
Pogicha.152  He  was  told  that  from  the  Koluima,  go- 
ing eastwardly,  he  could  reach  the  Pogicha  in  three 
days  and  that  the  banks  of  that  stream  were  thickly  pop- 
ulated and  abounded  in  fur-bearing  animals.153  With 
this  news  he  went  to  Jakutsk  to  ask  for  permission  and 
an  outfit  to  enable  him  to  investigate  the  truth  of  the 
story.  These  being  granted,  he  departed  on  his  mis- 
sion in  1647,  making  his  way  by  water  and  land  as  well 
as  he  could  to  the  Koluima.  In  July,  1649154  he  left 
this  station  in  two  boats  and  after  being  out  a  week  one 
of  them  was  wrecked.155  A  few  Koriaks  whom  he  met 
told  him  that  they  had  never  heard  of  the  river  he  was 
seeking.  In  the  course  of  the  summer  he  had  a  fight 
with  the  Chukchi.156  The  reports  are  not  clear  as  to 
how  far  he  went,  but  it  is  known  that  he  returned  to  the 
Koluima  on  September  7,  1649. 157 

Others,  besides  Staduchin,  went  in  quest  of  the  Po- 
gicha.    About  this  time  there  was  on  the  Koluima, 

sufferings,  wounds  and  loss  of  blood  and  pay  me  ray  wages  for  the  last  three 
years. 

150  Zhurnal  Ministerstva  Narodnavo  Prosveschenia,  304,  contains  the  ac- 
count (the  original  is  in  the  Appendix)  of  Deshnef  here  given.  In  these  doc- 
uments Deshnef,  referring  back  to  the  time  when  he  was  with  Staduchin, 
speaks  of  himself  as  slujiloi  [servant]  and  designates  Staduchin  as  slujiloi  and 
prikaznoi,  a  title  similar  to  our  factor  or  agent. 

151  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  doc.  98,  350. 

152  —  Ibid.,  vol.  iii,  doc.  99-100. 

153  —  Ibid. 

154  —  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  doc.  6,  13. 

155  —  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  doc.  7,  21. 

156  —  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  doc.  4,  8. 

157  —  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  doc.  6,  13. 


EXAMINATION  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  73 

Fedot  Alexeef,  agent  for  a  Moscow  merchant.  He 
went  to  look  for  the  stream  in  six  kotshi,  containing 
ninety  men,  one  of  them  being  Deshnef,  who  had  been 
allowed  to  go  at  the  request  of  Alexeef.158  In  due  time 
Deshnef  reached  the  Anaduir,  but  whether  he  went  all 
the  way  by  water  or  partly  by  land  is  the  question  un- 
der consideration. 

The  year  (1648)  in  which  Staduchin  was  trying  to 
find  the  Pogicha,  a  company  of  Cossacks,  in  a  fight  with 
a  village  of  non-tribute-paying  Chodinski,  on  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Aniui,  captured  and  led  to  the  Koluima 
one  named  Angora,  who,  when  questioned,  said, 

That  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains  there  is  a  new  river 
Anadir  and  that  this  river  Anadir  159  comes  very  near  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Aniui.160 

This  information  led  to  the  organization  of  another 
company  of  hunters  in  1649  under  Motora  for  the  pur- 
pose of  conquering  the  people  of  the  Anaduir  district.161 
This  party  was  encamped  on  the  Koluima  in  the  fall  of 
1649  and  was  found  there  by  Staduchin  on  his  return 
from  his  fruitless  search.  According  to  the  testimony 
of  a  follower  of  Staduchin,  Motora  and  his  men  were 
in  possession  of  the  quarters  and  provisions  left  by  Sta- 
duchin.162 This  was  the  beginning  of  the  bad  feeling 
between  the  two  leaders  which  followed  them  to  the 
Anaduir.  During  the  winter  the  two  camps  broke  up 
and  began  their  march  to  the  Anaduir,  and  after  many 
quarrels,  threats  and  some  fighting  on  the  way,  they 
reached  Deshnef's  camp  on  the  Anaduir  on  April  23, 
1650. 

158  Zhurnal  Ministerstva  Narodnavo  Prosvechenia,  303. 

159  During  this  period  the  words  Anaduir  and  Koluima  were  more  often 
written  "Anadir"  and  "Kovyma." 

160  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  7,  16. 

161  _  Ufa 

162  —  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  doc.  4,  8. 


74  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Motora  and  Deshnef,  having  a  common  enemy  in 
Staduchin,  joined  forces.  The  point  at  issue  was  not 
who  discovered  the  Anaduir,  but  who  was  the  govern- 
ment officer  in  charge.  Staduchin  was  without  doubt 
the  highest  in  rank,163  but  since  these  were  independent 
expeditions  there  was  no  reason  why  Motora  or  Desh- 
nef should  allow  themselves  to  be  superseded.  Each 
man  was  responsible  to  Jakutsk  and  to  no  one  else. 
Staduchin  was  disappointed  and  vented  on  his  enemies 
his  bitterness,  which  occasionally  led  to  bloodshed.164 
Conditions  reached  such  an  unbearable  state  that  Desh- 
nef and  Motora  left  the  Anaduir  that  fall  to  live  on  the 
Penjinsk  River.  But  not  having  guides,  they  wandered 
about  for  three  weeks  without  finding  that  stream,  and 
were  obliged  to  come  back  for  fear  of  starving  and 
freezing  to  death.  Staduchin  for  one  reason  or  anoth- 
er, probably  tiring  of  the  petty  and  profitless  warfare, 
abandoned  the  Anaduir  and  set  out,  February,  165 1,  to 
find  the  Penjinsk.165  He  was  not  heard  of  again  until 
1658,  when  he  reported  the  discovery  of  a  number  of 
streams  and  told  about  his  experiences  on  the  Anaduir, 
but  not  once  did  he  mention  Deshnef.166 

Staduchin  being  out  of  the  way,  the  other  leaders 
were  able  to  do  as  they  pleased.  During  the  summer 
of  1652  they  built  boats  and  went  down  to  the  mouth 

163  In  addition  to  the  evidence  on  this  point  given  in  footnote  150,  we  know 
that  Staduchin  held  the  rank  of  desyatnik  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim, 
vol.  iv.,  doc.  47].  In  1654,  when  the  Jakutsk  office  sent  instructions  to  the 
Anaduir  they  were  addressed  to  Staduchin  and  not  to  the  other  leaders.  A 
document  of  the  year  1662  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc. 
*3>  267]  refers  to  Ataman  Michaelo  Staduchin. 

164  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  7,  18. 

165  —  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  doc.  4,  8. 

166  —  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  doc.  47.  It  is  strange  that  Muller  who  has  seen  this 
document  should  say:  "Darauf  begab  sich  Staduchin  nach  dem  Penschina, 
und  nachher  ist  nichts,  weiter  von  ihm  gehoret  worden."  -Sammlung  Russi- 
scher  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,   x6. 


EXAMINATION  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  75 

of  the  Anaduir,  this  being  the  first  time  that  Deshnef 
or  any  other  Russian  had  ever  been  there.  They  found 
a  korga  or  sand  bank  on  which  were  many  walrus 
tusks.167  In  the  same  year,  1652,  Motora  was  killed  in 
a  fight  against  the  natives  of  the  country,168  and  it  ap- 
pears that  Semenof  succeeded  him  in  command.  This 
man  and  Deshnef  say  that  in  the  summer  of  1653  they 
cut  timber  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  boat  on  which 
to  go  to  Jakutsk,  but  lacking  the  necessary  tools  and 
gear,  and  owing  to  rough  seas,  they  gave  up  their  plan.189 
On  April  27,  i654,1TO  Yurya  Selivestrof  came  overland 
from  the  Koluima  to  the  Anaduir.  Selivestrof  was  a 
friend  of  Staduchin,  having  been  associated  with  him 
in  the  Pogicha  expedition  of  1649.  These  facts  are  in 
themselves  sufficient  to  explain  why  Deshnef  refused  to 
allow  him  to  gather  walrus  tusks  on  the  Anaduir.171 
Each  made  claims  and  counter-claims.  Deshnef,  in  his 
reports,  states  that  Selivestrof  wrote  a  letter,  in  1654,  to 
Jakutsk  in  which  he  said  that  Staduchin  and  he  (Selive- 
strof) discovered  the  walrus  bank  in  1649  and  not  Desh- 
nef, which  claim  Deshnef  denied. 

The  year  1655  is  an  important  one  because  during 
that  time  the  various  factions  on  the  Anaduir  sent  their 
reports  to  Jakutsk.  There  are  five  documents  in  all. 
Three  of  them  bear  on  Deshnef's  voyage.  One  is  writ- 
ten by  Deshnef,  another  by  Deshnef  and  Semenof,  and 
the  third  by  Vetoshka  and  companions,  friends  of  Desh- 
nef. So  much  alike  are  the  three  reports  that  it  is 
quite  probable  that  they  were  written  by  one  and  the 

167  The  price  of  walrus  tusks  at  Jakutsk  during  this  period  was  sixty  rubles 
a  pud  [36  pounds].     Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  45,  99. 

168  —  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  doc.  7,  19-20. 

169  —  Ibid, 
•no  — Ibid. 

171 — Ibid.,   vol.  iv,  doc.  5,  10. 


76  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

same  person.  The  fourth  report  was  written  by  Selives- 
trof,  and  the  fifth  by  two  men  who  had  originally  come 
to  the  Anaduir  with  Staduchin,  but  since  his  departure 
had  served  under  Motora,  and  were  at  the  time  of  writ- 
ing with  Selivestrof.172  New  material  bearing  on  this 
question  has  recently  come  to  light.  A  Russian  archiv- 
ist, N.  Ogloblin,  published  in  1890  four  documents  bear- 
ing the  dates  1662,  1664,  and  two  dated  1665,  addressed 
to  the  czar  by  Deshnef.173  In  these  petitions  the  writer 
tells  of  his  long  service  and  hardships  and  begs  that  his 
wages  be  paid  to  him.174 

From  the  above  documents  Muller  and  his  followers 
have  drawn  a  number  of  arguments  to  prove  that  Desh- 
nef came  all  the  way  by  water  from  the  Koluima  to  the 
Anaduir: 

I.  Deshnef  left  the  Koluima  on  June  20,  1648,  and 
made  a  stop  at  Chukotski  Nos  [East  Cape]. 

II.  The  Bolshoi  Kamennoi  Nos  of  Deshnef  is  Chu- 
kotski Nos  because  it  lies  between  north  and  northeast, 
the  direction  given  by  Deshnef. 

III.  The  islands  described  by  Deshnef  opposite  his 
cape  are  the  islands  in  the  Bering  Strait. 

IV.  Since  in  his  report  he  does  not  mention  ice,  it 
proves  that  the  sea  was  free  from  ice  in  1648. 

V.  In  1653  Deshnef  talked  of  building  a  boat  to  take 
the  tribute  to  Jakutsk  and  that  indicates  that  he  came 
from  the  Koluima  to  the  Anaduir  by  water. 

VI.  Rumor  that  Alexeef  was  wrecked  in  Kamchatka 
should  be  accepted  as  good  evidence  for  the  voyage. 

172  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  neither  the  fourth  nor  the  fifth  reports  makes 
mention  of  Deshnef's  voyage. 

173  Zhurnal  Ministerstva  Narodnavo  Prosveschenia,  December,  1890,  300- 
306. 

174  In  the  "Appendix"  the  reader  may  find  Muller's  version,  the  originals 
and  the  English  translation. 


EXAMINATION  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  77 

VII.  Deshnef,  in  1662,  used  the  words,  "and  having 
passed  the  mouth  of  the  Anaduir,"  therefore  it  is  clear 
that  he  passed  through  Bering  Strait. 

VIII.  The  reasons  why  in  the  time  of  Deshnef  the 
voyage  was  unknown  are  (1)  Deshnef  disappeared 
after  1655,  (2)  no  one  was  interested  in  the  matter,  and 
(3)  the  records  were  hidden  away  in  Jakutsk  and  had 
it  not  been  for  Muller  the  world  would  still  be  ignorant 
of  the  deed. 

The  defenders  of  Deshnef  are  almost  willing  to  base 
their  whole  case  on  the  proposition  that  the  cape  men- 
tioned by  Deshnef  is  East  Cape.175  In  his  report  Desh- 
nef is  attempting  to  explain  to  the  officers  at  Jakutsk 
just  where  his  cape  lies ;  and  to  help  them  he  gives  them 
a  land-mark,  the  Koluima.  The  cape,  he  says,  is  not 
the  Sviatoi  Nos,  west  of  the  Koluima,  but  another  cape 
east  of  that  river.  Which  one?  There  are  many,  all 
unknown  to  them.  Under  the  circumstances  one  would 
naturally  name  the  one  nearest  the  Koluima,  or  the  most 
northerly  or  the  most  dangerous.  East  Cape  comes  un- 
der neither  of  these  heads.  In  describing  a  new  coun- 
try one  does  not  pass  by  the  nearer  and  the  more  im- 
portant points  to  speak  of  similar  places  farther  re- 
moved and  less  important.  Shalagski  Cape  is  farther 
north,  more  dangerous,  and  nearer  the  Koluima  than 
East  Cape. 

175  In  Zhurnal  Ministerstva  Narodnavo  Prosveschenia,  264,  Ogloblin  says, 
"If  the  Bolshoi  Kamennoi  Nos  of  Deshnef  is  Chukotski  Nos  [Ogloblin  has  in 
mind  the  cape  at  the  southern  entrance  to  Bering  Strait],  then  Deshnef  passed 
through  the  whole  of  the  strait.  If  it  means  East  Cape,  Deshnef  went  only 
as  far  as  the  entrance  [northern]  of  the  strait.  If  it  means  Chaun  or  Shalag- 
ski or  the  capes  lying  east  of  Shalagski,  it  follows  that  Deshnef  did  not  reach 
the  Anaduir."  Ogloblin  concludes  his  learned  discussion  with  the  statement 
that  Deshnef's  cape  is  no  other  than  Muller's  Chukotski.  The  interesting  part 
about  this  argument  is  that  the  Chukotski  Cape  in  the  mind  of  Ogloblin  is  the 
one  at  the  southern  entrance  of  the  strait  while  Muller's  Chukotski  Cape  is  at 
the  northern  entrance.     See  Muller's  map. 


78  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Bolshoi  Kamennoi  Nos  lies  between  north  and  north- 
east and  turns  toward  the  Anaduir,  therefore,  according 
to  Muller,  it  is  East  Cape.  The  geographical  direc- 
tions that  are  given  by  the  Siberians  of  this  period  are 
imperfect  and  unreliable.  Indeed,  it  is  extremely 
doubtful  whether  they  had  a  compass  or  knew  its  use.176 
At  the  very  best  the  directions  indicated  are  merely 
approximate.  But  if  one  should  admit  that  the  de- 
scription is  accurate,  it  applies  with  equal  force  to 
many  of  the  other  capes  in  northern  Siberia  as  well  as 
to  East  Cape. 

Some  of  the  other  statements  of  Deshnef  must  be  ex- 
amined. In  two  different  places  he  says  that  the  Bol- 
shoi Nos  is  "far  from  the  mouth  of  the  Anaduir."  In 
a  third  place  he  observes  that 

In  good  weather  one  can  go  from  the  cape  to  the  Anaduir  in 

three  days  and  no  longer;  and  it  would  take  no  more  time  to  go 

by  land,  because  the  Anaduir  falls  into  the  sea. 

The  distance  from  East  Cape  to  the  Anaduir  is  about 
one  thousand  forty-five  nautical  miles;177  across  Holy 
Cross  Bay  it  is  not  less  than  five  hundred  miles,178  a  dis- 
tance by  far  too  great  for  any  kotsh  to  make  in  "three 
days"  and  "no  longer."  Were  there  even  a  possibility 
of  sailing  that  distance  in  three  days,  walking  it  in  that 

176  Among  the  numerous  seventeenth  century  documents  examined,  the 
writer  did  not  come  across  the  word  compass,  although  sails,  anchors,  etc.,  are 
often  mentioned.  In  the  documents  of  the  early  eighteenth  century  the  word 
appears   \Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.   ii,  doc.  26,   82,  year   1715]. 

177  Information  obtained  from  the  United  States  Hydrographic  Office,  Oc- 
tober 1,  1909: 

"Replying  to  your  letter  of  September  22,  1909,  in  regard  to  the  distance 
in  nautical  miles  from  Koluima  River  to  the  Anaduir  River  following  the 
windings  of  the  coast,  the  following  information  is  furnished : 

"Koluima  River  to  East  Cape  .  .  11 15  miles 

"East  Cape  to  Anaduir  River  .  .  1045  miles 

"Total        .  .  .  .  .  2160  miles" 

178  Letter  from  United  States  Hydrographic  Office,  September  15,  1909. 


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EXAMINATION  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  81 

period  is  utterly  impossible.  This  ought  to  be  suffi- 
cient to  show  that  Deshnef  s  cape  is  not  East  Cape,  not 
even  Chukotski  Cape  of  to-day.  A  cape  such  as  he  de- 
scribes does  not  exist  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Siberia. 
It  is  fair  to  ask  why  it  took  him  ten  weeks  to  walk  from 
the  spot  where  he  lost  his  boat  since  from  the  cape  it  is 
only  three  days  to  the  Anaduir.  Ankudinof's  kotsh  was 
wrecked  on  the  cape  and  the  survivors  were  taken  on 
board  the  other  boats  and  the  voyage  continued,  and  yet 
the  party  did  not  come  any  nearer  to  the  Anaduir,  but 
was  wrecked  miles  and  miles  from  the  river. 
Deshnef  says, 

In  the  year  1648,  September  20,  in  going  from  the  Koluima 
River  to  the  sea  .  .  .  the  Chukchi  in  a  fight  wounded  the 
trader  Alexeef. 

Taken  as  it  stands,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  it 
should  be  read  in  any  other  way,  the  statement  means 
that  on  that  late  day  Deshnef  was  not  very  far  from  the 
Koluima,  and  therefore  by  October  1,  about  the  time  he 
was  wrecked,  he  could  not  possibly  have  reached  East 
Cape,  and,  it  goes  without  saying,  the  Anaduir. 

In  the  report  written  by  Vetoshkin  and  other  friends 
of  Deshnef  it  is  said,  though  not  very  clearly,  that  the 
Bolshoi  Nos  lies  in  front  of  the  place  from  which  Sta- 
duchin,  in  1649,  turned  back  from  his  search  of  the 
Pogicha.179  Since  Staduchin  had  gone  only  about  sev- 
en days  from  the  Koluima,  it  follows  that  the  cape  in 
front  of  Staduchin  can  not  be  very  far  from  the  Kolui- 
ma. 

Opposite  Bolshoi  Nos  are  islands  on  which  live  Chuk- 
chi with  pieces  of  bone  in  their  lips.  The  Diomede 
Islands  are  not  opposite  East  Cape  and  are  very  far 
from  it,  far  enough  away,  at  least,  to  make  it  impossible 

179  "Avperede  tova   mesta  vest  Kamennoi   Nos  Bolshoi." 


82  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

to  observe  from  the  sea  just  what  ornaments  the  inhabit- 
ants wear.  One  who  assumes  that  he  has  landed  is 
forced  to  admit  that  (i)  he  used  up  precious  time,  and 
(2)  that  he  is  not  keeping  close  to  the  shore  where  he 
should  be  in  order  to  find  a  river.  Here  again  his  de- 
scription fits  Shalagski  Cape.180  As  to  the  tower  of 
whale  bone,  it  is  probably  similar  to  the  piles  of  whale 
bone  noticed  by  Wrangell  in  the  neighborhood  of  Shal- 
agski Cape.181 

In  order  to  make  the  voyage  seem  plausible  Muller 
assumes  that  the  Arctic  was  free  from  ice  in  1648. 
Muller  says:182 

Es  wird  keiner  Hindernissen  von  Eise  Gedacht.     Vermuthlich 
waren  auch  keine.     Derm  Deschnew  erinnert  bey  einer  andern 

180  Wrangell,  in  Siberia  and  Polar  Sea,  325,  tells  of  two  islands  opposite 
Shalagski.     See  also  Wrangell,  Siberia,  276. 

181  Wrangell,  Siberia,  327:  "We  saw  several  large  heaps  of  white  bones, 
but  very  little  driftwood." 

So  far  as  known,  the  Chukchi  do  not  now  wear  the  labret  and  have  not 
worn  it  in  historical  times.  If  they  wore  it  in  Deshnef's  day,  the  description 
applies  with  equal  force  to  the  Chukchi  near  the  Koluima  as  to  those  off  East 
Cape.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  Chukchi  never  wore  the  labret,  and  the  peo- 
ple Deshnef  talked  about  were  the  Eskimos,  this  in  itself  does  not  prove  that  he 
was  at  East  Cape.  Wrangell  and  Nordenskjold,  from  their  study  of  the  sub- 
ject on  the  spot,  concluded  that  not  very  far  back  the  inhabitants  of  the  north- 
ern shore  of  Siberia  were  not  Chukchi,  but  a  people  like  the  Eskimos  or  Aleuts, 
labret-wearing  tribes.  There  is  nothing,  however,  in  the  account  to  make  us 
believe  that  this  information  was  necessarily  obtained  on  this  voyage.  Desh- 
nef's report  was  not  written  till  1655.  He  had  in  the  interval,  opportunities 
for  gathering  information  and  for  making  observations.  Perhaps  Admiral 
Sarytchef's  suggestions  about  Deshnef  may  be  correct.  He  says,  "Great 
doubts,  however,  are  entertained  of  his  veracity  and  it  is  strongly  suspected 
that  Deshnef  collected  most  of  his  information  respecting  these  shores  from 
the  Tschukschians  and  supplied  the  rest  by  his  own  invention."  -  Sarytchef,  36. 

There  is  some  foundation  for  this  view.  In  speaking  of  the  labret-wearing 
people,  Deshnef  says,  "they  are  known  as  zubati."  By  whom  are  they  known 
as  such  ?  He  does  not  say  "we  named  them  zubati."  Again,  if  Deshnef  had 
actually  seen  the  Eskimos,  he  would  not  have  mistaken  them  for  the  Chukchi. 
He  had  always  lived  among  primitive  peoples,  his  eye  was  well  trained,  and 
by  '655,  the  time  of  writing,  he  had  had  numerous  opportunities  to  observe 
the  Chukchi. 

182  Muller,  Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,  9. 


EXAMINATION  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  83 

Gelegenheit,  dass  die  See  nicht  alle  Jahre,  so  wie  dieses  Mahl, 
von  Eise  rein  zu  seyn  pflege. 

In  the  original  one  does  not  find  the  words  "so  wie 
dieses  Mahl;"  without  them  the  argument  loses  much 
of  its  force.  The  fact  that  he  does  not  mention  the  ice 
would  prove,  if  it  proves  anything  at  all,  that  there  was 
ice,  that  the  usual  conditions  prevailed.  One  generally 
notes  the  uncommon  and  not  the  common  things.  In 
another  place  Deshnef  describes  the  "zubati"  Chukchi 
because  they  are  different  from  the  other  natives.  The 
burden  of  proof  that  there  was  no  ice  falls  on  those  who 
make  the  claim. 

Another  argument  advanced  in  favor  of  Deshnef  is 
derived  from  misinterpreting  one  of  his  sentences  and 
making  it  read  thus: 

Im  Jare  1653  liess  er  Holz  fallen,  um  eine  Kotsche  zu  bauen, 
womit  der  bis  dahin  eingenommene  Tribut  zur  See  nach  Ja- 
kutsk  abgesandet  werden  konnte.  Weil  es  aber  an  dem  ub- 
rigen  Zubehore  fehlte;  so  unterblieb  die  Sache.  Man  horte 
auch,  dass  die  See  um  das  grosse  Tschuktschische  Noss  nicht 
alle  Jahre  vom  Eise  frey  sey.183 

The  argument  loses  much  of  its  weight  because  the 
last  sentence  in  the  quotation  is  not  in  the  original. 
What  Deshnef  says  is  this, 

The  natives  told  us  that  the  ice  does  not  leave  the  shore  every 
year. 

Because  he  intended  to  build  a  boat  to  go  to  Jakutsk 
it  must  not  be  inferred  that  he  came  there  by  water. 
If  one  assumes  this  he  must  also  admit  that  Selivestrof 
came  to  the  Anaduir  by  way  of  Bering  Strait,  for  in  his 
report  he  says  that  he  had  not  decided  whether  during 
the  coming  year  he  would  take  the  tribute  to  Jakutsk 
by  land  or  sea.184     In  his  case  it  is  positively  known  that 

iS3  MuIIer,  Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,  16-17. 
184  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  5,  10. 


84  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

he  came  to  the  Anaduir  by  land  in  1654.  Both  these 
statements  indicate  that  their  authors  were  quite  un- 
aware of  the  danger  and  the  distance ;  and  that  they,  like 
other  Siberians,  believed  that  the  Koluima  and  the  Ana- 
duir were  close  to  each  other  and  parallel.  The  part 
of  the  statement  reading,  "that  the  ice  does  not  leave  the 
shore  every  year"  refers,  not  to  the  Arctic  Sea,  but  to 
the  Anaduir,  where  the  natives  with  whom  Deshnef 
talked  were  living,  and  the  year  in  question  was  not 
1648,  but  1653.  If  the  words  of  the  natives  are  to  be 
believed,  the  inference  would  be  that  on  certain  years 
the  navigation  of  the  Anaduir  Sea  was  entirely  closed. 
Indeed,  in  one  place  Deshnef  complains  that  the  ice  left 
the  Anaduir  shore  very  late  in  the  summer.185 

The  argument  that  Alexeef  was  wrecked  in  Kam- 
chatka is  unusually  weak  and  almost  childish.186  Desh- 
nef in  his  report  states  that  in  1654  he  found  a  Jakut 
woman  (belonging  to  Alexeef)  among  the  Koriaks,  and 
she  told  him  that  Alexeef  and  Gerasim  died  of  scurvy, 
some  of  their  companions  were  killed,  and  the  other 
men  ran  away.  This  is  unlike  Muller's  mythological 
account.187  In  the  time  of  Deshnef  the  Koriaks  were 
a  warlike  people  and  roamed  up  and  down  Siberia 
more  than  they  have  done  since.188  It  is  quite  possible 
that  Alexeef  was  wrecked  somewhere  between  the  Ko- 
luima and  the  Shalagski  Cape  and  died  there  of  scurvy, 
and  that  some  of  his  companions  were  killed.     The 

185  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  4,  doc.  7,  20. 

186  Muller,  in  Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,  19,  says:  "Sie 
sollen  so  angesehen  und  geehrt  gewesen  seyn,  dass  man  sie  fast  vergottert 
habe.  Man  hat  nicht  geglaubt,  dass  eine  menschliche  Hand  ihnen  schaden 
Iconne:  nachdem  aber  die  Russen  unter  sich  selbst  in  Streit  gerathen;  nachdem 
einer  den  anderen  verwundet,  und  die  Kamtschedalen  das  Blut  von  ihnen  flie- 
ssen  sehen  ...  so  sind  alle  theils  von  den  Kamtschedalen,  theils  von  den 
Korjaken,  erschlagen  worden." 

187  _  Hid. 

188  Staduchin,  in  1649,  met  them  not  far  from  the  Koluima. 


EXAMINATION  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  85 

woman,  for  obvious  reasons,  was  spared  and  in  due  time 
found  a  home  among  the  Koriaks. 

In  the  report  of  1655  Deshnef  tells  that  he  was 
wrecked  on  the  "forward  end"  [peredni  konets  za  Ana- 
dir reku\  of  the  Anaduir.  Later  in  1662,  he  states  that 
"after  having  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Anaduir"  his 
boats  were  lost.  Both  these  descriptions  are  vague  and 
may  mean  anything,  and  they  show  that  one  must  not 
try  to  prove  too  much  from  them.  Before  proceeding 
farther  with  this  point,  the  question  may  be  asked  for 
what  river  was  Deshnef  looking.  If  he  sailed  in  1647 
or  1648  he  was  in  search,  not  of  the  Anaduir,  but  of  the 
Pogicha.189  It  was  not  before  the  fall  of  1649  that  any- 
thing at  all  was  known  of  the  Anaduir,  and  in  1648 
Deshnef  knew  no  more  about  it  than  Staduchin  who  was 
still  looking  for  the  Pogicha  in  1649.  It  was  only  on 
his  return  in  the  autumn  that  Staduchin  heard  of  the 
Anaduir  and  the  way  thither.  The  words  of  Deshnef 
that  he  went  from  the  Koluima  to  find  the  Anaduir 
have  no  weight  because  they  were  written  in  1655. 

From  the  material  that  has  come  down  one  is  in  doubt, 
not  only  whether  Deshnef  reached  the  Anaduir,  but 
whether  he  went  even  farther  than  Chaun  Bay.  Look- 
ing, as  he  did,  for  the  Pogicha  he  should  have  stopped  at 
any  one  of  the  many  streams  in  the  Arctic  Sea  which, 
so  far  as  he  knew,  might  have  been  the  Pogicha.  The 
words  "having  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Anaduir"  may 
mean  that  he  passed  one  of  these  northern  rivers,  prob- 
ably in  the  neighborhood  of  Chaun  Bay,  and  later  con- 
fused it  with  the  Anaduir.  After  being  wrecked  he 
wandered  about  here  and  there190  for  ten  weeks  and 

189  There  is  no  evidence  for  Muller's  statement,  "Nun  wuste  man  schon, 
Pogitscha  sey  eben  derselbe  Fluss,  welcher  auch  Anadir  genennet  warde"- 
Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,  14. 

190  Whether  he  went  east,  west,   north,  or  south,  he  does  not  say.     It  is, 


86  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

accidentally  struck  the  Anaduir  without  having  a  very- 
clear  idea  as  to  his  whereabouts. 

Even  if  he  had  known  the  situation  of  the  Anaduir, 
he  had  no  time  to  reach  it.  He  left  his  winter  quarters, 
the  lower  Koluima  or  some  place  near  it,  June  20, 
which  would  bring  him  to  the  sea  about  a  month  later, 
for  the  navigation  of  the  river  is  open  much  earlier  than 
on  the  sea.191 


however,  fair  to  assume  that  he  would  go  in  a  southerly  direction  so  as  to 
have  the  cold  north  and  northwest  winds  at  his  back. 

191  After  reading  the  different  accounts  of  navigation  in  the  Arctic,  and 
the  fact  that  all  attempts  to  sail  east  of  the  Koluima  have  failed,  one  is  almost 
forced  to  believe  that  the  cold  is  greater  east  of  the  river  than  west  of  it.  It 
is,  of  course,  impossible  to  prove  or  disprove  this  from  the  insufficient  data 
at  hand.     Wrangell,  in  Siberia,  46,  says: 

"The  severity  of  the  climate  of  this  district  may  be  attributed  as  much, 
or  perhaps  more,  to  its  unfavorable  physical  condition,  as  to  its  high  latitude. 
To  the  west  there  is  the  extensive  barren  tundra,  and  to  the  north  a  sea  cov- 
ered with  perpetual  ice ;  so  that  the  cold  northwest  wind,  which  blows  almost 
without  intermission,  meets  with  no  impediments  [page  49].  .  .  Though 
from  all  that  has  been  said,  the  climate  is  one  of  the  most  severe  and  un- 
kindly." 

Nordenskjold  in  Voyage  of  the  Vega,  vol.  i,  426,  says:  "East  of  the  Bear 
Islands  heavy  sea  ice  in  pretty  compact  masses  had  drifted  down  the  coast." 

In  Wrangell's  Siberia  [pages  163-167]  is  evidence  to  show  that  the  naviga- 
tion on  the  river  begins  much  earlier  than  on  the  sea:  "We  were  not  able 
to  launch  our  shallop,  which  we  named  the  Koluima,  until  the  eleventh  of 
June,  when  the  inundation  subsides.  [They  started  down  the  Koluima  in 
this  boat].  .  .  The  next  day  (July  3)  some  men  .  .  .  returned  with  the 
information  that  Tchukotskaja  Bay,  and  even  the  mouth  of  the  river  itself, 
were  still  covered  with  ice.  I  was  therefore  obliged  most  reluctantly,  to  await 
a  change  in  the  wind,  which  was  now  blowing  freshly  from  the  north  and 
northwest,  and  drove  the  ice  into  the  river  instead  of  clearing  it.  Day  after 
day  we  examined  the  state  of  the  ice  and  still  found  it  impossible  for  a  boat 
to  pass."     The  attempt  was  finally  given  up. 

The  Vega  was  held  in  the  ice  until  July  18  [Voyage  of  the  Vega,  vol.  ii, 
67]. 

On  July  29,  1740,  Laptef  sailed  from  the  mouth  of  the  Indigirka  and 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Koluima,  August  4;  but  during  the  remainder  of 
the  summer,  on  account  of  the  ice,  he  did  not  go  any  farther  than  Baranof 
Cape.  In  the  following  year  Laptef  left  Lower  Koluima  on  June  29  and 
came  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  July  8,  and  from  this  time  until  August  4  he 
had  advanced  only  twenty-five  miles  to  the  eastward  and  was  forced  to 
abandon  his  plans. 


EXAMINATION  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  87 

If  Deshnef  really  did  go  to  the  Anaduir  by  water, 
would  it  not  have  been  more  natural  that  the  officers 
sent  to  relieve  him  should  have  been  told  to  follow  his 
course  and  go  by  water,  which  is  much  easier,  than  to  go 
overland?  When  this  party192  received  its  instructions, 
the  Jakutsk  office  had  no  other  guide  to  the  Anaduir 
than  Deshnef's  reports  and  the  other  reports  here  men- 
tioned, yet  these  officers  do  not  discuss  or  even  mention 
the  water  route. 

The  defenders  of  Deshnef  deal  with  this  voyage  as 
if  it  differed  in  no  way  from  Nordenskjold's.  Deshnef 
is  pictured  as  starting  from  the  Koluima,  passing  rivers 
and  capes,  sailing  through  Bering  Strait,  setting  his 
course  for  the  mouth  of  the  Anaduir,  missing  it  only  on 
account  of  the  weather,  and  as  being  wrecked  at  a  place 
ten  weeks'  walking  distance  from  the  river.  Why  en- 
dow him  with  such  unusual  powers  and  capabilities? 
To  give  Deshnef  credit  of  having  discovered  Bering 
Strait  on  no  better  evidence  than  his  own  words  "hav- 
ing passed"  is  unthinkable.  His  description  of  Bolshoi 
Kamennoi  Nos  has  shown  how  unreliable  his  words 
are.193 

If  one  is  going  to  allow  Deshnef  the  honor  of  having 
doubled  East  Cape  just  because  he  says  "having  passed 
the  mouth  of  the  Anaduir,"  why  not  be  consistent  and 
give  equal  praise  and  accept  as  true  the  claim  of  Seli- 

192  Here  is  an  example  illustrating  the  danger  of  attempting  to  prove  an 
important  point  by  the  loose  language  of  these  hunters.  In  1656,  Amos  Mich- 
aelof  was  ordered  to  the  Anaduir  to  take  charge  of  that  post.  He  and  those 
with  him  were  instructed  that  "in  sailing  down  the  Lena  and  on  the  sea  to  the 
Indigirka,  to  the  Alasea,  and  to  the  Koluima  and  to  the  Anaduir"  they  should 
take  no  one  on  board  with  them  to  the  Anaduir.  On  the  face  of  it  this  sen- 
tence might  mean  that  the  party  was  to  continue  the  voyage  from  the  Koluima 
to  the  Anaduir  by  water.  But  in  another  part  of  this  document,  ten  pages 
farther,  these  same  men  are  told  to  go  "from  the  Alasea  to  the  Anaduir  in  one 
winter"  [Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  30,  70,  80]. 

1£>3  —  Ibid. 


88  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

vestrof  that  he  and  Staduchin  discovered  the  walrus 
bank  at  the  mouth  of  the  Anaduir  in  1649?  How 
could  they  have  discovered  it  unless  they  had  gone  there 
by  water?  If  the  letter  containing  this  claim,  of  which 
Deshnef  speaks  as  having  been  written  in  1654,  nac^ 
been  preserved,  we  might  there  find  as  good  evidence 
as  any  presented  by  Deshnef.  Why  believe  one  more 
than  another?  The  object  of  this  investigation  is  not, 
of  course,  to  urge  Selivestrof's  claim,  but  to  show  rela- 
tively the  value  of  Deshnef's. 

The  fact  that  Deshnef  is  totally  ignored  by  his  con- 
temporaries is  a  strong  argument  that  he  did  not  ac- 
complish, or  perhaps  did  not  even  claim,  the  feat  with 
which  Muller  credits  him.  For  outside  of  Deshnef's 
story,  given  here  in  full  in  his  own  words,  there  is  not 
a  hint  about  his  voyage  in  the  documents  of  his  time.194 
The  Siberians  who  discuss  the  question  whether  one  can 
go  from  the  Koluima  to  the  Anaduir  conclude  that  it 

194  Muller  [Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,  5]  gives  the  impres- 
sion that  in  the  seventeenth  century  the  Russians  were  not  interested  in  geo- 
graphical problems.  The  fact  that  the  czar  requested  Godunof,  Remezof  (in  the 
life  time  of  Deshnef),  and  others  to  draw  up  maps  and  give  detailed  informa- 
tion about  Siberia  refutes  such  a  view.  Remezof  says  that  there  were  in 
Tobolsk  many  maps  of  Siberia  drawn  in  the  years  1668,  1669,  1684,  1685,  1686, 
1687,  1689,  1695,  1696,  1697,  1698,  1699,  and  1701.  There  are  also  additional 
seventeenth  century  documents  displaying  a  keen  interest  in  geographical 
questions.  Here  is  one  dated  1680:  "There  was  a  question,  does  the  Arctic 
Sea  join  the  Eastern  Ocean.  .  .  Is  the  Arctic  Sea  separated  from  the  East 
or  Chinese  Sea  by  some  continent  which  stretches  out  from  Siberia  esatward? 
This  question  has  lately  occupied  the  military  officials  of  the  Lena  and  Nert- 
chinsk  districts.  They  gathered  some  of  the  natives  and  examined  the  shores 
to  the  ocean,  and  they  say  that  on  the  east  there  is  no  continent  and  that  the 
seas  are  not  separated,  and  that  Siberia,  Dauria,  Nikania,  and  China  are 
washed  on  the  east  by  the  same  ocean.  When  asked  whether  one  could  go 
in  a  boat  from  St.  Michael-Archangel  or  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ob  and  the  city 
of  Berezof,  and  by  keeping  close  to  the  shores  of  Siberia,  Dauria,  and  Nikania 
reach  China,  these  officers  answered  that  in  the  Arctic  Sea  the  ice  never  melts 
altogether,  but  all  during  the  summer  icebergs  float  about  and  crash  into 
each  other,  and  therefore  it  is  dangerous  for  the  boats."  -  Titof,  Siberia,  214. 


^AvPf/stien  /yap-. 


Ys  Caap  in  place  of  the  Russian   map-makers 

Impassable  Cape 

Reproduced  through   the  courtesy  of  the  American  Antiquarian 

Society 


EXAMINATION  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  91 

cannot  be  done  on  account  of  the  impassable  cape.190 
They  surely  would  have  mentioned  that  it  had  been 
done  once  by  Deshnef,  ataman  of  Jakutsk,  one  of  the 
three  men  in  the  province  holding  such  high  rank,  and 
who,  until  1671,  lived  in  Jakutsk,  the  gathering  spot  of 
all  Siberians  and  Arctic  navigators.  Yet  notwithstand- 
ing his  importance  and  the  rarity  of  the  deed  no  one 
seems  to  be  aware  of  it,  not  even  to  deny  it.  Deshnef 
went  to  Moscow,  where  he  related  his  adventures  and 
was  rewarded  "for  his  efforts  in  finding  walrus  tusks, 
and  for  his  wounds,"196  but  not  a  word  about  his  navi- 
gation. The  Swedish  ambassador  in  Moscow  in  1669 
was  sufficiently  interested  in  Siberia  to  copy  Godunof's 
map,  but  he  has  left  us  nothing  of  Deshnef.  Witsen,  in 
touch  with  Russia  and  having  access  to  Siberian  docu- 
ments, should  have  known  of  the  deed,  and  yet  he 
writes  and  pictures  on  his  map  "Ys  Caep"  where  the 
Russian  memoirs  locate  the  "impassable  cape." 

It  is  possible  to  establish  a  connecting  link  between 
Deshnef  and  Peter  the  Great,  who  was  so  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  question  whether  Asia  and  America  are 
united.  When  Deshnef  went  to  Moscow  the  second 
time  in  1671  he  had  with  him  the  son  of  Michaelo  Sta- 
duchin,  his  old  enemy.      The   Staduchins  were  very 

195  "From  the  mouth  of  the  Koluima  around  the  continent  past  the  mouths 
of  the  Kovichi,  Inabara,  Hi,  and  Duri  to  the  stone  barrier  one  can  go,  if  the 
ice  permits,  as  it  sometimes  does,  in  one  summer,  but  when  the  ice  obstructs 
it  may  take  three  years.  And  across  the  barrier  it  takes  a  day;  and  when  one 
is  on  it  he  may  see  two  seas,  the  Lena  and  the  Amur.  When  the  barrier 
is  crossed  one  comes  to  the  Anaduir  where  walrus  bones  are  hunted."  -Titof, 
Siberia,  153,  document  of  1672. 

"From  the  Baikal  Sea  there  is  a  stretch  of  mountains  or  rock,  and  one  can- 
not go  past  it  by  the  Lena  and  that  mountain  or  rock  continues  into  the  ocean 
for  about  five  hundred  poprisch  and  that  is  why  it  is  impossible  to  go  from  the 
Lena  to  China  and  there  is  no  passage  to  the  Amur."  -  Titof ,  Siberia,  88,  doc- 
ument after  1683. 

196  Zhurnal  Ministerstva  Narodnavo  Prosveschenia,  December,  1890,  p.  297. 


92  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


prominent  in  Arctic  navigation,  and  we  have  the  re- 
sults of  two  of  these  men's  efforts  to  sail  west  of  the 
Koluima.197 

Vladimir  Atlasof,  called  the  discoverer  of  Kam- 
chatka, lived  from  boyhood  in  Jakutsk,  the  home  of 
Deshnef  and  other  Arctic  explorers.  In  1672  Atlasof 
was  in  Moscow,  where  Deshnef  was  at  the  time.  Either 
directly  or  indirectly  Atlasof  must  have  had  numerous 
opportunities  to  hear  from  Deshnef  or  of  Deshnef  and 
of  his  deeds.    Yet  this  Atlasof  reports  in  1701  that, 

Between  the  Koluima  and  Anaduir  Rivers  there  is  an  impass- 
able cape  \neobchodimoi  nos\  which  runs  out  into  the  sea,  and 
on  the  left  side  of  the  cape  there  is  ice  in  the  summer  and  in  the 
winter  the  sea  is  frozen  solid ;  and  on  the  other  side  [right] 
there  is  ice  in  the  spring  but  in  the  summer  there  is  no  ice.  On 
this  impassable  cape  Vladimir  has  not  been.198 

Atlasof  lived  until  171 1,  way  into  Peter's  reign.199 
In  addition  to  the  documentary  evidence  light  may 

197  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  ii,  493.  Deposition  made  in  1710: 
"In  former  years  Taras  Staduchin  told  Malgin  in  the  Koluima  zimovie  that 
many  years  before  Taras  and  ninety  others  came  to  the  Koluima  and  from 
there  went  to  sea  in  kotshi,  keeping  close  to  the  shore  to  examine  the  Impassa- 
ble Nos,  and  they  could  not  pass  it,  and  therefore  turned  back  and  crossed 
over  to  the  shore  to  examine  the  Nos,  to  the  other  side.  There  making  a 
kotsh,  they  kept  along  the  shore  towards  the  Penjina  Sea,"  and  after  going 
some  distance  in  that  direction  they  turned  back. 

Deposition  made  by  Vasili  Staduchin  (Vasili  was  sent  by  the  government 
to  find  an  island  in  the  Arctic)    about  1712: 

"Opposite  the  upper  mouth  of  the  Koluima  we  saw  a  cape  extending  out 
[into  the  ocean].  To  go  around  the  cape  was  impossible  on  account  of  the 
ice;  and  that  cape  connects  the  land  of  the  Shalangski  Chukchi  and  the  Ana- 
duir country  on  one  side  and  the  Koluima  land  on  the  other,  but  it  is  not  an 
island." 

198  Chtenia  V  Imperatorskom  Obschestve  Istorii  I  Dre-vnostoi  Rossiskich 
(Moscow,    1891),   book  iii,   12. 

The  testimony  of  Atlasof  and  the  Staduchins,  just  quoted,  indicates  that 
even  at  this  date  the  Siberians  still  believed  that,  with  the  exception  of  the 
impassable  (Shalagski)  cape,  the  northern  and  eastern  shores  of  Siberia  met 
at  about  right  angles,  and  just  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  cape  was  the  Amur 
Sea  [Pacific  Ocean]. 

199  It  may  be  of  interest  to  know  that  Remezof  used  Atlasof's   reports  of 


EXAMINATION  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  93 

be  thrown  on  this  voyage  from  a  consideration  of  such 
questions  as  boats,  food,  and  weather. 

A  "kotsh,"  the  kind  of  boat  Deshnef  had,  was  a  flat- 
bottomed  decked  vessel,  about  twelve  fathoms  long,  put 
together  generally  without  a  nail  or  scrap  of  iron  of 
any  kind,  and  probably  kept  together  by  wooden  pegs 
and  leather  straps.  Buldakof,  one  of  the  Siberians, 
speaks  of  the  ice  cutting  the  twigs  of  his  kotsh.  From 
this  statement  and  hints  elsewhere,  it  would  seem  that 
a  kotsh  was  tied  together  and  probably  protected  on  the 
outside  by  twigs.  A  kotsh  had  a  wooden  mast  and  sails 
of  deer  skin,200  which  are  of  little  use  in  damp  weather. 
The  chief  motive  power,  therefore,  was  the  paddle. 
Anchors  were  made  of  wood  and  stone,  and  cables  of 
leather.201  This  description  gives  one  an  idea  of  the  fit- 
ness of  a  kotsh  to  battle  with  sea  and  ice.202 

The  food  problem  is  always  a  serious  one  in  Arctic 
navigation.  Granted  that  quality  is  not  an  important 
factor  in  the  Siberian's  diet,  you  must  admit  that  in 
place  of  it  he  must  have  quantity,  especially  meat. 
There  was  not  much  food  to  be  had  either  at  Jakutsk  or 

Kamchatka  in  constructing  the  map  of  that  region.  See  Oglobin,  Isfoc/miki 
Chertozhnoi  Kingi  Sibiri  (St.  Petersburg,  1891). 

200  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  ii,  doc.  118,  505. 

201  —  Ibid. 

202  In  some  quarters,  even  in  naval  circles,  there  seems  to  prevail  an  idea 
that  in  Deshnef's  day  men  performed  deeds  impossible  to-day.  This  view  is 
against  common  sense  and  evidence.  The  history  of  seventeenth  century  navi- 
gation in  the  region  of  the  Koluima  is  a  history  of  shipwrecks.  The  Arctic 
Ocean  never  was  a  quiet  Russian  lake,  and  the  laws  of  nature  had  to  be  obeyed 
then  as  now.  Writers  have  too  often  confounded  an  explorer,  like  Peary,  with 
a  hunter,  like  Deshnef.  The  former  has  an  ideal  to  draw  him  on,  the  latter 
has  no  such  high  purpose.  Although  possessed  of  an  equal  amount  of  endur- 
ance, the  hunter  has  less  perseverance,  he  is  easily  discouraged.  In  naviga- 
ting he  keeps  close  to  land  and  at  the  first  sign  of  danger  runs  there  for  pro- 
tection. He  is  always  ready  to  turn  back.  Why  should  he  risk  his  life? 
Money  has  far  less  power  over  him  than  is  usually  supposed.  The  hunter 
is  more  like  the  ambitionless  native  with  whom  he  associates  than  the  enthu- 
siastic explorer. 


94  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

on  the  Koluima,  because  both  of  these  localities  had 
been  but  recently  occupied,  and  also  because  "the 
higher  animal  world  is  exceedingly  poor"  on  the  Ko- 
luima.203 In  addition  to  some  rye  flour  there  was  prob- 
abily  little  other  food.  It  is  hardly  conceivable  that 
there  were  enough  supplies  on  board,  assuming  that 
the  party  went  from  the  Koluima  to  the  Anaduir  by 
water,  to  support  ninety  men204  one  hundred  days. 

It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  go  into  a  lengthy  discussion 
of  the  ice  and  fog  which  every  explorer  meets  with  in 
the  Arctic  Ocean.  Deshnef,  sailing  in  an  unfamiliar 
sea  without  a  chart  in  search  of  an  unknown  river, 
would  be  especially  impeded,  since  he  would  not  navi- 
gate in  the  fog  for  fear  of  passing  the  mouth  of  the 
stream  he  was  seeking.  Nordenskjold,  while  in  these 
waters,  faced  both  of  these  obstacles.205 

Another  reason  for  doubting  the  deed  credited  to 
Deshnef  is  that  all  known  attempts  of  that  kind,  either 
from  the  east  or  west,  have  ended  in  failure.206     Not  a 

203  Nordenskjold,  Voyage  of  the  Vega,  vol.  i,  426. 

204  No  attempt  has  as  yet  been  made  to  explain  Alexeef's  squaw  found 
among  the  Koriaks  by  Deshnef.  Were  there  any  more  like  her  on  board  ? 
The  presence  of  such  persons  would  not  be  for  the  best  interests  of  the  ex- 
pedition and  would  increase  the  consumption  of  food.  There  is  another  point 
which  needs  explanation.  How  did  Deshnef  and  his  shipwrecked  "hungry 
and  naked  crew"  succeed  in  sustaining  themselves  through  the  winter?  Ac- 
cording to  his  own  words  the  Anaduir  was  bare  of  food  and  wood,  and  the 
river  was  too  rocky  for  fishing.  This  is  probably  as  cold  and  as  inhospitable 
a  place  as  one  could  find;  and  judging  from  the  accounts  of  more  recent  writ- 
ers (George  Kennan,  Tent  Life  in  Siberia)  it  has  not  changed  for  the  better 
since  Deshnef's  day. 

205  Nordenskjold,  Voyage  of  the  Vega,  vol.  i,  428,  429:  "The  ice  was 
heavy  and  close  although  at  first  so  distributed  that  it  was  navigable.  But 
with  the  north  wind  which  began  to  blow  on  the  night  before  the  first  [of] 
September  ...  it  became  impossible  to  continue  the  course  which  we  had 
taken.  .  .  A  further  loss  of  time  was  caused  by  the  dense  fog  which  pre- 
vailed by  day." 

206  Nordenskjold's  achievement,  in  an  especially  built  steam-schooner,  well 
provisioned,  supplied  with  the  best  charts,  compasses,  and  other  scientific  aids, 
does  not  prove  anything  in  this  case. 


EXAMINATION  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  95 

single  Russian  hunter  or  navigator  has  succeeded  in 
doubling  Shalagski  Cape.  Michaelo  Staduchin  failed 
in  1649,  Taras  Staduchin  in  1700  [?],  Vasili  Stadu- 
chin in  1712,  Dimitri  Laptef  in  1740-1742,  Shalaurof 
in  1762  and  1764,  and  Billings  in  1787.  All  these 
men,  except  perhaps  Michaelo  Staduchin,  were  better 
equipped  and  much  more  qualified  than  Deshnef. 


IV.    KAMCHATKA  AND  THE  KURILS 

It  was  half  a  century  after  the  Russians  had  gained 
possession  of  the  Anaduir  country  to  the  north  and  the 
Ouda  and  Okhotsk  regions  to  the  south  that  they  made 
an  attempt  to  acquire  Kamchatka.  It  is  not  true  that 
they  were  ignorant  of  its  existence.  As  early  as  1652 
Michaelo  Staduchin  had  penetrated  along  the  Penjinsk 
and  established  posts  there,  and  a  document  of  1672  re- 
fers to  the  Kamchatka  River  as  a  stream  already  well- 
known.207  The  reasons  for  the  delay  were  due  chiefly 
to  the  weakness  of  the  Russian  forces  and  to  the  bitter 
hostility  of  the  natives  between  the  Anaduir  and  the 
Kamchatka  Rivers.  Along  the  Penjinsk  and  the  west- 
ern coast  of  the  peninsula  lived  one  tribe  of  fighting 
Koriaks,  and  on  the  eastern  coast,  from  the  Oliutora 
River  southwards,  dwelt  an  even  more  warlike  group 
of  the  same  people.  Though  at  first  not  openly  hostile, 
the  natives,  as  they  saw  the  Russians  encroaching  upon 
them  and  taking  their  deer,  became  outspoken  in  their 
enmity  to  the  newcomers  and  resolved  to  drive  them  out 
or  die  in  the  attempt.  They  told  the  Russians  that  they 
would  not  permit  them  to  go  to  Kamchatka  either  by 
land  or  sea,208  and  that  they  would  never  surrender 
alive.209  These  were  not  empty  threats,  and  the  Russians 
were  actually  forced  to  find  another  route  to  Kamchatka 
than  the  Anaduir  one.  By  plunder  and  purchase 
the  Koriaks  had  provided  themselves  with  firearms210 

2°7Titof,  Siberia,  54. 

208  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  94,  410. 

209  —  Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  doc.  117,  485-487. 

21*  — Ibid.,    498. 


98  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

in  addition  to  their  own  powerful  weapons,  and, 
being  protected  by  their  shields,  they  were  superior  to 
the  Russians,  some  of  whom  could  not  use  a  gun  and 
ran  at  the  sight  of  the  enemy.211  When  no  longer  able 
to  fight,  the  natives  killed  their  wives  and  children  and 
then  committed  suicide,  or  deliberately  chose  being 
burned  alive  in  their  homes  by  the  Russians  to  surren- 
dering to  them.212  The  Koriaks  knew  how  to  fight, 
how  to  die,  and,  what  is  equally  important,  they  knew 
how  to  plan  a  battle.  A  Russian  officer  testified  that 
from  the  moment  the  Cossacks  left  the  Anaduir  to  go 
to  Kamchatka  their  plans  and  movements  were  known 
to  the  Koriaks.218  This  statement  is  no  doubt  true,  be- 
cause the  Russians  were  surprised  nearly  always  on 
their  way  to,  rather  than  from,  Kamchatka.  Unlike  the 
Kamchadels  and  other  natives,  the  Koriaks  appreciated 
the  strength  which  comes  from  union;  for  not  only 
were  they  united  among  themselves,  but  they  even  at- 
tempted to  persuade  the  Chukchi  and  Yukagirs  to  join 
with  them  against  the  Russians.214 

From  what  has  been  said  one  will  readily  see  that 
Vladimir  Atlasof  is  not  deserving  of  the  titles  "discov- 
erer" and  "conqueror"  of  Kamchatka,  for  he  neither 
discovered  nor  conquered  that  country.  It  would  be 
more  just  to  call  him  the  "explorer"  of  Kamchatka, 
because  in  that  particular  field  he  was  superior  to  any 
Siberian  of  his  time.  His  description  of  the  peninsula 
and  its  inhabitants  is  one  of  the  best215  and  shows  him 
to  have  been  a  man  endowed  with  a  clear  and  observing 

211  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  91,  406;  doc.  100. 

212  —  Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  doc.  117,  487. 

213  —  Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  doc.  117,  477-481. 

214  —  Ibid.,  vol.  i,  doc.  29,  93;  doc.  99,  425. 

215  Chtenia  V  Imperatorskom  Obschestve  Istorii  I  Drevnostei  Rossiskich, 
1891. 


KAMCHATKA  AND  THE  KURILS  99 

mind.210  In  1697,217  while  stationed  on  the  Anaduir  as 
prikaschik,  he  commissioned  Luke  Morosko218  and 
fourteen  others  to  go  to  Kamchatka  and  collect  tribute 
from  its  inhabitants.  Morosko  returned  that  same  year 
with  several  bundles  of  furs  and  three  Koriak  hos- 
tages,219 all  of  which  indicates  that  he  did  not  go  very 
far  down  the  peninsula.  With  this  news  and  the  Ana- 
duir tribute  Atlasof  started  for  Jakutsk  during  the 
winter  of  1696-1697,  arriving  there  probably  early  in 
the  spring.  He  was  at  once  asked  to  turn  back  and  go 
in  search  of  "new  lands."  On  coming  to  the  Anaduir 
he  gathered  a  company  of  sixty  Russians,  among  whom 
was  at  least  one  who  had  been  with  Morosko,220  and  an 
equal  number  of  Yukagirs  and  set  out  with  them  that 
same  year  for  Kamchatka.  After  crossing  the  moun- 
tains on  reindeer  he  directed  his  course  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Penjinsk,  meeting  with  but  little  unfriendliness 
from  the  natives.221  He  followed  the  northwest  coast 
as  far  as  Kamchatka  Nos222  and  then  passed  over  the 

216  Atlasof  was  born  in  Russia  and  when  a  small  boy  he  came  with  his 
father  to  Siberia  and  settled  on  the  Lena  \Vestnik  Imperatorskavo  Russkavo 
Geograficheskavo  Obschestva,  1858,  160].  In  1672  he  was  already  in  the 
czar's  service,  assisting  in  the  taking  of  the  Jakutsk  tribute  to  Moscow.  In 
1695  he  held  the  rank  of  pyatdesyatnik  and  was  sent  as  prikaschik  to  the 
Anaduir  {Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  102,  434],  at  this  time  the 
most  difficult  post  to  reach  and  the  most  dangerous  to  live  in  throughout  the 
whole  of  Siberia. 

217  Vestnik  Imperatorskavo  Russkavo  Geograficheskavo  Obschestva,  1858, 
1 60. 

218  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  102,  433. 

219  —  Ibid. 

220  — ibid.,  434. 

221  Chtenia  V  Imperatorskom  Obschestve  Istorii  I  Drevnostei  Rossiskich, 
1891. 

222  Unless  one  watches  closely,  the  names  of  places  are  liable  to  confuse 
him.  Some  of  them  have  entirely  disappeared  from  the  map,  and  others  were 
applied  to  more  than  one  place.  During  this  period  Anadirskoi  Nos  meant 
the  cape  at  the  southern  entrance  to  Bering  Strait  [Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi 
Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  109,  462]  ;  Kamchatka  Nos  -  cape  in  northwestern  Kamchat- 


ioo  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

mountains  to  the  eastern  shore,  where  the  Oliutora 
Koriaks  had  their  homes  and  where  he  was  also  peace- 
fully received.  At  this  point  Atlasof  divided  his  com- 
pany in  two:  one  party  of  sixty  men,  composed  equally 
of  Russians  and  Yukagirs,  was  ordered  to  follow  the 
eastern  shore  of  the  peninsula,  and  with  the  other  party 
he  turned  back  to  the  Penjinsk  side  and  proceeded 
along  the  western  coast  in  a  southerly  direction. 

In  addition  to  the  Koriaks  who  were  now  becoming 
hostile,  Atlasof's  Yukagirs  turned  on  him  when  near 
the  Palane  River  and  killed  six  of  his  men  and  wound- 
ed fifteen  others,  not,  however,  without  considerable 
loss  to  themselves.  Peace  was  temporarily  made  and 
the  Yukagirs  consented  to  go  on ;  but  when  on  the  Tigil 
River,  Atlasof  attempted  to  chastise  them,  many  escaped 
in  the  night.  Very  soon  ofter  this  the  division  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  mountains  crossed  over  and  joined 
itself  to  Atlasof,  and  the  whole  company  marched  over 
the  mountains  to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Kamchatka 
River.  The  Kamchadels  living  at  this  place  were  at 
war  with  those  lower  down  the  stream,  and,  in  order  to 
gain  Atlasof's  immediate  support,  they  submitted  to 
him.  He  was  called  back  from  the  fight  against  the 
enemies  of  his  allies  to  give  chase  to  the  Koriaks,  who 
had  in  the  meantime  driven  off  the  deer  left  higher  up 
the  river.  After  a  hard  pursuit  over  a  trail  covered 
with  bones  of  the  stolen  deer,  the  Koriaks  were  brought 

ka,  between  the  mouth  of  Penjinsk  and  the  Pustaya  River  [Pamyatniki  Si- 
birskoi  Isforii,  vol.  ii,  doc.  117,  501];  Kamchatka  Nos  -  present  Lopatka  Cape 
[Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  109,  462,  470,  doc.  112,  488]  ;  Kam- 
chatka Sea  -  sea  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kamchatka  River  [Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi 
Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  105,  444];  Lama  Sea  -  Sea  of  Okhotsk  Pamyatniki  Si- 
birskoi Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  99,  427;  vol.  ii,  doc.  118,  509];  Oliutora  Sea  -  water 
between  Kamchatka  and  Oliutora  Rivers  [Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol. 
ii,  doc.  14,  44;  vol.  i,  doc.  m,  484,  doc.  i,  117,  504];  Penjinsk  Sea  -  sea  all 
along  the  western  coast  of  Kamchatka;  Sviatoi  Sea  -  sea  near  mouth  of  Yana 
River  [Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  ii,  doc.  23,  69]. 


KAMCHATKA  AND  THE  KURILS  101 

to  bay  near  the  Penjinsk  Sea  and  were  forced  to  give  up 
what  was  left  of  their  plunder. 

Following  this  exploit  Atlasof  marched  down  to  the 
Itcha  River,  and  there  he  heard  of  a  stranger  held  as 
captive,  whom  the  natives  called  a  Russian,  but  who 
turned  out  to  be  a  ship-wrecked  Japanese.223  It  is  dif- 
ficult to  say  how  far  south  he  actually  reached;  al- 
though he  did  not  quite  come  to  Lopatka  Cape  he  was 
near  enough  to  it  to  learn  of  islands  in  its  neighborhood. 
His  men  began  urging  to  be  led  back  north  because 
their  ammunition  and  supplies  were  running  short.  Be- 
fore leaving  the  peninsula  he  sent  Potap  Surukof  with 
fourteen  Russians  and  thirteen  Yukagirs  to  build  an 
ostrog  on  the  Kamchatka  River  and  to  hold  it  until  re- 
lieved.224 With  the  remaining  fifteen  Russians  and 
four  Yukagirs,  and  with  a  very  large  number  of  pelts, 
Atlasof  went  to  the  Anaduir  where  he  arrived  Febru- 
ary, 1700.  By  June  he  was  at  Jakutsk  and  from  there 
he  went  to  Moscow,  and  petitions  from  him  to  the  czar 
are  dated  in  that  city  early  in  February,  1701.  For  his 
services  he  was  made  golova  and  was  given  fifty  rubles 
in  cash  and  fifty  rubles'  worth  of  cloth. 

The  encouraging  report  regarding  Kamchatka  de- 
cided the  Sibirski  Prikaz  to  send  there  another  expedi- 
tion under  Atlasof.  Soon  after  leaving  Tobolsk  with 
his  chosen  band  Atlasof  entered  on  a  career  of  plunder, 

223  Atlasof  took  this  Japanese,  whose  name  was  Debne,  to  the  Anaduir. 
When  Peter  the  Great  heard  of  Debne  he  requested  that  he  should  be  brought 
before  him  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  On  January  8,  1702,  Debne  was 
presented  to  the  czar,  and  the  two  had  a  long  conversation  about  Japan.  Peter 
ordered  that  Debne  should  be  instructed  in  the  Russian  language  and  that  he 
should  instruct  the  Russians  in  Japanese.  In  1710  Debne  was  baptized  and 
took  the  name  of  Gabriel.  This  Debne  is,  so  far  as  known,  the  first  Japanese 
in  Russia   [Russkaya  Starina,  October,  and  November,  1891]. 

224  In  1700  Surukof  was  killed  as  he  was  making  his  way  to  the  Anaduir 
\Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  102,  434]. 


102         RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

growing  more  bold  and  lawless  as  he  proceeded,  re- 
sulting finally  in  his  downfall.225 

The  question  of  finding  a  safe  route  to  Kamchatka 
was  one  that  gave  the  officers  at  Jakutsk  a  great  deal  of 
worry  throughout  this  early  period.  The  one  usually 
followed  was  first  traced  by  Kobelef,  who  was  sent  to  re- 
lieve Surukof  in  1700.  He  went  on  deer  and  dog  teams 
to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Penjinsk,  and  on  small  boats 
down  to  its  mouth  and  along  the  sea  coast  to  Pustoi 
Ostrog,  on  the  Pustaya  River.  At  this  point  he  stole 
deer  from  the  Koriaks  and  crossed  to  the  eastern  side  of 
the  mountains,  and  from  there  he  went  down  to  the 
Kamchatka  River.226  By  obtaining  large  leather  boats 
from  the  Koriaks  at  the  mouth  of  the  Penjinsk,  several 
of  the  prikaschiks  were  enabled  to  go  down  as  far  as  the 
Lesnaya  River  and  even  farther.227  The  return  from 
Kamchatka  was  generally  begun  in  winter  when  the 
tribute  was  transported  overland  from  the  Lower  Kam- 
chatka Ostrog  to  the  Tigil  River.  From  there  it  was 
taken  in  summer  on  boats  up  the  Penjinsk  Bay  and 
partly  up  the  river,  and  on  deer  and  dog  teams  to  the 
Anaduir.228  After  1707  it  became  exceedingly  difficult 
and  dangerous  to  enter  Kamchatka.     The  Koriaks  were 

225  On  August  29,  he  held  up  and  robbed  three  boats  loaded  with  Chinese 
goods  valued  at  sixteen  thousand,  six  hundred  and  twenty  rubles.  Three  days 
later  a  report  of  this  deed  was  sent  to  the  authorities  at  Jakutsk,  Tobolsk,  and 
Moscow.  When  Atlasof  reached  Jakutsk,  May,  1702,  the  woewod  at  that 
post  had  instructions  from  the  Sibirski  Prikaz  to  treat  Atlasof  like  any  other 
thief.  With  several  others  he  was  tried,  tortured,  and  committed  to  prison. 
He  was  released  in  1706  on  condition  that  he  return  to  Kamchatka,  where  a 
strong  hand  was  needed  \Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  in,  472]. 
But  when  he  arrived  there  the  next  year  he  found  his  prestige  gone,  the  na- 
tives in  insurrection,  and  the  Russians  insubordinate.  His  love  of  plunder 
was  still  strong  in  him,  and  the  complaints  of  his  victims  forced  his  superiors 
to  remove  him  from  command. 

226  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  ii,  doc.  118,  501-502. 

227  —  ibid. 

228  —  Ibid.,  vol.  i,  doc.  111,  4.74. 


KAMCHATKA  AND  THE  KURILS  103 

determined  to  keep  out  the  Russians  and  the  latter  had 
to  fight  their  way.229  This  constant  fighting  was  a  se- 
vere drain  on  the  Jakutsk  office.  Between  the  years 
1707  and  171 1  as  many  as  two  hundred  eighty-nine 
men 230  were  sent  to  Kamchatka,  and  those  who  were  not 
killed  in  battle  became  demoralized  more  than  else- 
where in  Siberia.  For  two  years,  171 1  to  1713,  Kam- 
chatka was  terrorized  by  bands  of  assassins  and  robbers, 
and  there  were  not  enough  faithful  men  left  in  the  ser- 
vice to  put  them  down.  One  of  these  was  led  by  Danilo 
Anziforof  and  Ivan  Kozirefski.  They  killed  the  of- 
ficers in  command  and  plundered  the  government 
stores,  and  planned  to  establish  an  independent  settle- 
ment on  one  of  the  Kuril  Islands.  When  they  had  used 
up  their  ammunition  they  dictated  terms  to  the  newly 
arrived  prikaschik  and  entered  the  service  once  more.231 

229  A  detailed  account  of  one  or  two  of  these  efforts  may  be  helpful.  When 
in  1707  Peter  Chirikof  reached  the  upper  Penjinsk  on  his  way  to  Kamchatka, 
he  found  the  Koriaks  hostile.  Peter  had  to  make  his  own  kotshi  and  in  three 
of  these  he  went  down  the  river  followed  by  the  natives  who  had  passed  word 
along  announcing  his  coming.  One  of  his  kotshi  was  wrecked  and  lost,  but 
with  the  other  two  he  sailed  on  and  landed  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Paren. 
At  this  point  he  was  attacked  and  driven  back  to  Aklanska  Ostrog,  with  a  loss 
of  eight  killed  and  twenty  wounded.  At  Aklanska  Ostrog  he  was  besieged 
from  September  8  to  November  2,  when  he  was  rescued  by  a  relieving  force 
from  the  Anaduir,  and  to  this  post  he  returned.  The  next  year  Peter  made 
another  attempt,  and  although  he  succeeded  in  shaking  off  the  Koriaks  on 
the  west  coast  he  found  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  peninsula  the  Oliutora 
Koriaks  blocking  his  passage  near  the  Karaga  River.  In  the  fight  which 
took  place  on  July  20,  1709,  ten  Russians  lost  their  lives,  also  ammunition  and 
other  stores,  including  two  hundred  rubles  in  coin.  (There  was  a  rumor 
at  the  time  that  Chirikof  pocketed  the  money  and  laid  the  blame  on  the 
Koriaks).  Four  days  later  the  Koriaks  came  back  to  the  attack,  but  this 
time  the  Russians  drove  them  off  and  captured  five  leather  boats  on  which 
they  made  haste  to  reach  Kamchatka.  Vasili  Sevyastanof,  who  left  the  An- 
aduir April  10,  1711,  had  to  fight  four  battles  before  he  came  to  Lower 
Kamchatka  on  July  29  \Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  ii,  doc.  117,  doc. 
118,  doc.  119,  doc.  125]. 

230  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  no,  470. 

231  This  insurrection  deserves  some   attention.     On   August  22,   1710,   Osip 


104  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

The  other  lawless  company  had  for  its  leader  Constan- 
tin  Kirgizof,  an  acting-prikaschik.     He  liberated  the 

Lipin  came  to  Kamchatka  to  relieve  Peter  Chirikof.  When  the  two  had  ar- 
ranged affairs  at  Lower  Kamchatka  they  went  to  Upper  Kamchatka  to  sign 
up  there.  Chirikof  returned  to  Lower  Kamchatka,  taking  with  him  the  tri- 
bute which  he  planned  to  transport  in  the  course  of  the  winter  to  the  Tigil 
so  as  to  have  it  ready  for  shipment  the  following  summer.  The  two  men 
saw  much  of  each  other  in  the  course  of  the  winter;  and  the  Christmas  holi- 
days they  spent  together  at  the  post  in  Upper  Kamchatka.  Towards  the  end 
of  January,  1711,  Lipin  found  it  necessary  to  go  to  Lower  Kamchatka.  On 
January  29,  he  was  waylaid  and  murdered  by  men  in  the  government  service. 
Starting  with  twenty,  this  company  of  insurrectionists  soon  numbered  seventy- 
five  men.  Danilo  Anziforof  was  chosen  leader  and  Ivan  Kozirefski  for  the 
office  next  in  importance.  Countersigns  were  given  out,  and  an  oath  binding 
all  to  a  common  cause  was  prescribed.  Vladimir  Atlasof,  against  whom  the 
conspirators  had  old  scores  to  settle,  was  the  next  victim  (February  1).  On 
March  20,  the  conspirators  found  Chirikof  at  Upper  Kamchatka  and  they 
proceeded  to  kick  him  to  death.  The  property  of  the  dead  men  was  divided 
into  seventy-five  shares,  each  consisting  of  sixty  sables,  twenty  red  foxes,  two 
sea  otter,  and  a  number  of  miscellaneous  articles.  They  did  not  forget  the 
priest,  who  was  given  several  articles  of  clothing  and  fur,  a  young  woman 
belonging  to  Atlasof,  and  two  young  men,  the  property  of  the  other  two 
prikaschiks.  When  this  was  done  the  men  wrote  a  letter  to  the  czar,  explaining 
how  the  three  murdered  prikaschiks  had  been  plundering  him  (the  czar)  and 
abusing  the  natives  and  white  men  to  the  detriment  of  the  public  treasury, 
and  knowing  that  the  czar  disapproved  of  such  lawless  acts  they,  the  under- 
signed, had  put  an  end  to  such  misgovernment.  In  order  to  have  wherewith 
to  buy  ammunition  with  which  to  fight  the  natives  they  were  compelled,  they 
said,  to  take  the  ill-gotten  gains  of  the  three  men.  From  Upper  Kamchatka 
Danilo  led  his  men  across  the  mountains  to  Bolshaya  River  and  there  estab- 
lished his  headquarters.  There  was  much  work  for  them  to  do,  for  during 
the  years  1707,  and  1710,  the  inhabitants  of  the  Bolshaya  River  killed  many 
of  the  Russians  and  destroyed  the  ostrog.  Under  Danilo' s  leadership  the 
enemy  was  subdued,  the  fort  rebuilt,  and  one  of  the  Kuril  Islands  discovered, 
which  find  led  them  to  consider  the  wisdom  of  abandoning  Kamchatka  and 
forming  a  new  colony  on  the  unclaimed  island.  Before  a  conclusion  was 
reached  a  summons  came  from  Vasili  Sevyastanof,  the  newly  arrived  prikas- 
chik,  to  appear  before  him  and  explain  their  deeds.  The  whole  company 
marched  over  to  Lower  Kamchatka ;  and  when  Vasili  saw  them  he  did  not 
have  the  courage  to  come  out  and  face  them,  but  sent  one  of  his  men  to  talk 
to  them.  The  result  of  the  discussion  was  that  the  insurrectionists  were 
granted  their  terms  -  that  they  be  given  ammunition  and  that  they  be  per- 
mitted to  make  up  for  their  crimes  by  fighting  the  hostile  peoples.  It  was 
while  engaged  in  this  work  on  the  Avatcha  River,  about  February,  1712,  that 
Danilo  with  seventeen  of  his  men  were  killed.  Ivan  Kozirefski  and  others 
went  to  discover  the  Kuril  Islands  in  1713.     Three  of  the  party,  however,  had 


KAMCHATKA  AND  THE  KURILS  105 

prisoners  and  enrolled  them  in  his  band  and  with  their 
assistance  he  spread  havoc  far  and  wide,  forcing  the 
natives  to  abandon  their  homes  and  seek  shelter  in  the 
forests.232 

The  hostility  of  the  natives  and  the  viciousness  of  the 
servants  threw  the  whole  service  into  disorder.  By 
1 71 2  there  was  in  Kamchatka  five  years'  tribute,  the 
last  shipment  having  been  made  in  1706.  Sevyastanof 
decided  to  abandon  the  old  Anaduir  route  and  try  a  new 
one  by  way  of  the  Oliutora  Sea.  On  June  4,  171 2,  he 
embarked  with  eighty-four  men  on  a  number  of  small 
boats  and,  after  leaving  the  mouth  of  the  Kamchatka 
River,  sailed  northwardly.  He  kept  close  to  the  shore 
and  met  with  no  difficulties  until  he  reached  the  Tum- 
latski  River  on  July  21.  Here  the  Oliutora  Koriaks 
attacked  him,  but  he  managed  to  drive  them  off  and 
continue  his  course  to  the  Oliutora  River,  where  he 
landed  on  August  5.233  A  fort  was  hastily  constructed 
as  protection  against  the  pursuing  enemy,  who  was  al- 
ways near  enough  to  make  it  unsafe  to  show  one's  head 
above  the  wall.  After  a  long  wait,  towards  the  end  of 
which  the  men  were  starving,  the  long  expected  rein- 
forcement from  the  Anaduir  came  and  transported  the 
tribute  to  the  Anaduir.     Sevyastanof  strongly  favored 

two  of  the  fingers  of  the  left  hand  cut  off  and  were  given  a  public  whipping 
in  addition.  Volume  one,  of  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii  has  the  documents 
on   this  case. 

232  In  1712,  when  Sevyastanof  left  Kamchatka  he  put  in  charge  of  one  of 
the  ostrogs  Constantin  Kirgizof.  Kirgizof  gathered  about  him  a  few  choice 
companions  and  set  about  getting  even  with  his  enemies.  The  agent  and 
priest  of  Lower  Kamchatka  were  his  first  victims.  From  Lower  Kamchatka 
he  went  in  other  directions  killing  and  burning.  When  they  had  tired  of  this 
they  returned  and  begged  the  new  prikaschik,  Kolesof,  to  be  reinstated  and  in 
return  they  offered  to  put  down  the  inhabitants  of  Karaginski  Island.  Nearly 
all  of  the  men,  after  being  mutilated,  branded,  and  whipped  in  public,  were 
put  back  in  service,  but  Constantin  and  one  other  were  executed. 

233  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  117,  504. 


106  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

this  new  route  because  of  the  quiet  sea,  and  the  numerous 
small  streams  which  offered  food  and  daily  landings. 
He  also  recommended  that  the  fort  on  the  Oliutora 
should  be  strengthened  and  a  garrison  stationed  to 
guard  the  boats  to  be  used  in  coming  and  going  to  Kam- 
chatka. Although  all  this  was  done,  Kolesof  was  still 
afraid  to  risk  a  shipment  in  1713.  Early  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1714  an  active  campaign  was  carried  on  against 
the  Oliutora  Koriaks,  and  before  the  summer  ended 
several  fights  took  place  in  which  the  natives  were 
beaten. 

Kolesof  was  not  molested  on  his  way  north  in  1714, 
and  he  was  able  to  reach  the  new  fort,  Archangelsk  (on 
the  Oliutora  River),  on  August  2/\..23i  When  the  men 
and  deer  for  transportation  had  arrived  from  the  Ana- 
duir,  Kolesof,  on  November  20,235  started  north  in  com- 
pany of  an  Anaduir  prikaschik  who  had  been  collect- 
ing tribute  in  this  neighborhood.  While  crossing  the 
ridge  of  the  Talkowa  Mountains  on  December  2,  in  the 
midst  of  a  blinding  snowstorm,  the  Yukagirs  of  the 
Anaduir  fell  on  the  Russians  as  they  were  scattered,  and 
murdered  a  number  of  them  and  drove  the  others  to 
Aklanska  Ostrog  where  they  hoped  to  starve  them  to 
death.  To  the  Yukagirs  the  Koriaks  joined  themselves, 
and  an  invitation  was  extended  to  the  Chukchi  to  help 
in  this  work  of  extermination.236  Nearly  one  hundred 
Russians  lost  their  lives  in  this  and  subsequent  fights 
which  took  place  during  the  spring  and  summer.237 

234  He  had  with  him  two  years'  tribute,  consisting  of  five  thousand,  six 
hundred  forty-one  sables,  seven  hundred  fifty-one  red  foxes,  ten  cross  foxes, 
one  hundred  thirty-seven  sea  otter,  and  other  valuable  stores,  among  which 
was  a  small  quantity  of  gold  found  in  a  wrecked  Japanese  junk. 

235  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  ii,  doc.  29,  92. 
**«  —  Ibid.,  93. 

237  —  Ibid.,  doc.  35,  119. 


KAMCHATKA  AND  THE  KURILS  107 

When  news  of  this  disaster  reached  Jakutsk  steps 
were  at  once  taken  to  regain  the  lost  ground  and  to  re- 
cover the  valuable  tribute.  Trifonof  was  ordered  to 
the  front  with  as  large  a  force  as  could  be  collected  and 
spared.238  But  Trifonof  was  totally  incompetent  and 
he  wasted  his  time  and  forces  without  accomplishing 
anything  of  value.  He  did  not  appear  on  the  scene  of 
the  battle  until  late  in  1716,  and  after  killing  a  handful 
of  Koriaks  in  the  neighborhood  of  Aklanska  Ostrog,  he 
led  his  valiant  band  to  winter  quarters  on  the  Ana- 
duir.239  By  the  end  of  1716  Russia  was  on  the  point  of 
losing  Kamchatka,  partly  through  her  own  incompe- 
tency and  partly  through  the  valiancy  of  her  foes.  Just 
then  Fortune  smiled  on  her  once  more  and  showed  her 
a  new  way  to  the  peninsula,  which  came  to  be  known 
later  as  the  "Okhotsk-Kamchatka  Route." 

The  difficulties  and  dangers  of  going  from  the  Ana- 
duir  to  Kamchatka  forced  the  government  to  make  even 
greater  exertions,  than  it  had  so  far  done,  to  find  an- 
other way  to  the  peninsula.  Since  1710  there  had  been 
much  talk  but  little  action  regarding  a  passage  across 
the  Okhotsk  Sea  and  about  discovering  new  lands  in  the 
Arctic  and  Pacific  Oceans.240  Captain  Tatarinof  was 
sent  to  the  Anaduir  chiefly  with  this  end  in  view,  but 
on  account  of  the  trouble  with  the  natives  he  did  not 

238  The  posts  on  the  Indigirka,  Koluima,  Yana,  and  one  or  two  others 
were  emptied  of  men  in  order  to  make  a  large  force  for  Trifonof  [Pamyatniki 
Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  ii,  doc.  35,  82-83]. 

239  While  Trifonof  was  making  ready  to  punish  the  natives,  Alexei  Petril- 
ofskoi  succeeded  in  making  his  way  to  Kamchatka.  In  company  with  one  or 
two  other  prikaschiks  he  spent  the  winter  of  1714-1715  on  the  Oliutora  River. 
During  his  stay  the  Koriaks  brought  into  the  post  bundles  of  furs  which  they 
had  taken  from  the  murdered  Russians.  These  packages  had  the  government 
seal  on  them,  and  it  was  well  known  where  they  came  from,  and  yet  these 
officers  bought  them  on  their  own  account  as  an  investment  [Pamyatniki 
Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  ii.,  doc.  36,  121-122;  vol.  ii,  doc.  59,  257-258]. 

240  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  99,  427. 


108  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

get  an  opportunity  to  enter  on  his  task.241  In  1714  a 
company,  unusually  well  equipped,  provided  with  all 
the  necessary  tools  and  materials  for  ship  building,  was 
commissioned  to  go  to  Okhotsk  and  there  construct 
boats  and  on  these  cross  over  to  Kamchatka  [Lopatka] 
Cape.242  After  the  sad  events  of  the  year  1714-1715,  it 
became  more  urgent  than  ever  to  find  a  water  route. 
Elchin,  the  woewod  of  Jakutsk,  was  called  to  Moscow 
for  a  conference,  at  which  it  was  decided  to  fit  out  a 
large  expedition  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  new 
lands  and  putting  down  the  hostile  natives  in  north- 
eastern and  eastern  Siberia.  In  1716  Elchin,  who  was 
made  commander  of  this  undertaking,  received  his  in- 
struction from  the  governor  of  Siberia  and  left  Tobolsk 
accompanied  by  a  competent  staff  of  naval  and  military 
officers243  and  a  large  number  of  Cossacks,  which  was 
to  be  increased  on  the  way  by  the  addition  of  two  hun- 
dred men.  Early  in  171 8  the  expedition  began  to  de- 
part from  Jakutsk,  but  when  the  leader  himself  was 
about  to  depart  more  orders  came  from  Tobolsk  to  re- 
port there  at  once  to  answer  charges  filed  against  him. 
The  command  of  the  already  disorganized  company 
fell  to  Captain  Abishtof,  who  died  in  June,  1719,  very 
soon  after  reaching  Okhotsk.244  This  well  planned  and 
very  costly  expedition  ended  in  failure,  owing  largely, 
as  usual,  to  the  inefficiency  and  jealousy  of  the  officers 
and  men. 

2,1  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  i,  doc.  118,  509. 

242  —  Ibid.,  vol.  ii,  doc.  12,  37. 

243  Among  them  was  a  Swedish  naval  lieutenant,  Ambiorn  Molyk. 

244  Supplies  and  men  were  scattered  all  along  the  road  between  Jakutsk  and 
Okhotsk  and  at  various  points  on  the  coast.  Some  of  the  materials  did  not 
find  their  way  to  the  sea  until  a  year  or  two  after  Abishtof  died  and  were 
left  on  the  beach  until  a  flood  and  a  high  water  carried  them  off.  The  ac- 
count here  given  of  Elchin's  expedition  is  based  on  a  paper  by  A.  Sgibnef  in 
Morskoi  Sborn'tk,  December,  1868. 


KAMCHATKA  AND  THE  KURILS  109 

But  of  these  numerous  attempts  one  was  bound  by 
the  law  of  chance  to  succeed.  The  company  mentioned 
above,  which  was  sent  out  in  1714,  constructed  an  open 
boat,  "lodka,"  and  on  this  a  sailor  [Treske],  a  Cossack 
[Sokolof],  and  several  others  ventured  into  Lama  Sea 
during  the  summer  of  1716  and  found  the  way  to  Kam- 
chatka.243 Molyk,  the  Swedish  officer,  who  preceded 
Abishtof  and  other  officers  to  Okhotsk,  arrived  there  in 
the  summer  of  1717,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  he  went 
over  to  Lower  Kamchatka.246  Late  in  the  summer  of 
the  year  171 8  another  boat  took  over  to  Bolshaya  River 
Vasili  Kachanof,  returning  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1719 
to  Okhotsk  loaded  with  Kamchatka  tribute.247  Ivan 
Chartinof,  a  member  of  Elchin's  expedition,  took  a  ship 
from  Okhotsk  on  August  20,  1719,  and,  after  touching 
on  the  Itcha  River  on  August  26,  dropped  anchor  in 
Bolshaya  River  four  days  later.248  Ivan  Uwarowski 
took  this  same  ship  back  to  Okhotsk  loaded  with  tribute 
in  June,  1720;  and  from  this  time  on  the  water  passage 
across  the  Lama  Sea  became  the  official  route  to  Kam- 
chatka. 

To  the  Siberians  of  the  early  eighteenth  century 
Kamchatka  had  three  distinct  peoples  on  it:  on  the 
north  and  west  wandered  the  Koriaks,  along  the  waters 
and  tributaries  of  the  Kamchatka  River  dwelt  the  Kam- 
chadels,  and  on  the  southern  part  lived  the  Kurils,  and 
that  part  of  the  peninsula  was  spoken  of  as  the  Land  of 
the  Kurils.     The  term  "Kuril"  was  not  applied  to  the 

245  A.  Sgibnef  in  Morskoi  Sbornik,  April,  1869.  Slovtsof  [p.  243]  states 
that  the  1716  boat  was  sixty  feet  long  and  had  a  twenty-five  foot  beam.  In 
the  first  attempt  she  made  the  Tigil  River  and  from  there  sailed  back  to 
Okhotsk.  In  the  same  year  she  made  another  trial  and  anchored  at  Chari- 
yuzovka  and  from  there  returned  to  Okhotsk  in  July,  1717. 

246  A.  Sgibnef  in  Morskoi  Sbornik,  December,  1868. 

247  —  Ibid.,  April,  1869. 

248  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  ii,  doc.  65,  272-275. 


no  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

islands  until  nearly  the  end  of  the  Bering  period.  Our 
earliest  information  of  these  islands  has  come  through 
Atlasof,  who  heard  of  them  from  the  natives  of  Kam- 
chatka.249 About  the  year  1705  Vasili  Kolesof,  at  the 
time  prikaschik  on  the  Kamchatka,  sent  a  body  of  men 
to  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula  to  put  down  the 
warlike  inhabitants.  In  the  course  of  their  wander- 
ings they  came  to  Cape  Lopatka,  whence  they  had  a 
view  of  the  islands,  but  having  no  boats  they  could  not 
approach  them.250  Five  years  later  a  Japanese  junk 
was  wrecked  on  the  shores  of  Kamchatka,  and  from 
four  of  the  crew  who  fell  into  their  hands  the  Russians 
obtained  a  clearer  idea  as  to  the  relation  of  these  islands 
to  Kamchatka  and  Japan.231  At  the  time  of  the  insur- 
rection two  of  these  Japanese  were  taken  in  charge  by 
Danilo  Anziforof,  and  this  probably  helps  to  explain 
why  Danilo  and  his  band  went  in  search  of  these  islands 
in  171 1.  From  Lopatka  these  men  paddled  in  small 
boats  and  baidaras  to  the  first  island,  and  after  a  fight 
with  the  inhabitants  they  succeeded  in  making  a  land- 
ing.252 

After  the  death  of  Danilo  in  171 2,  Ivan  Kozirefski 
and  other  conspirators,  in  order  to  expiate  their  crimes, 
offered  to  go  to  the  Kuril  Islands  and  bring  the  inhab- 
itants under  subjection.  This  met  with  the  approval  of 
the  officers,  who  were  anxious  to  carry  out  the  wishes 
of  the  czar  in  the  matter  of  exploration  and  discovery. 
Kozirefski  was  given  every  possible  assistance,  fifty 
Russians,  eleven  natives,  and  one  of  the  wrecked  Jap- 
anese to  act  as  pilot  and  interpreter.     Embarking  on 

249  Chtenia  V  Imperatorskom  Obschestve  Istorii  I  Drevnostei  Rossiskick, 
1891. 

250  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  ii,  doc.  118,  502-503. 
251 — Ibid.,  vol.  i,  doc.   in. 

2M  — Ibid.,  vol.  i,  doc.  112,  488. 


..„-„■  arh~.yy  Aifc.  ctytM.*-      •/       ' 


..../.I.    S.    ^c»tn„    ,,„,,,}      fa/*..., 


"J"  AW,*,, 

Tllphon     *  ni»' 


The  So-called  Shestakof  Map 

The  "Large  Country"  is  located  north  of  Siberia 

[Delisle  Manuscripts,  177-2-2] 


KAMCHATKA  AND  THE  KURILS  113 

their  small  boats  they  set  sail  for  the  islands  early  in 
the  summer  of  17 13.  On  three  of  them  they  made  land- 
ings and  brought  off  articles  made  of  silk  and  of  grass, 
as  well  as  sabres  and  other  objects  made  of  metal.253 
These  evidences  were  sent  to  Jakutsk  together  with  a 
report  and  chart  of  the  islands.  Although  only  three 
islands  were  visited,  yet  from  information  obtained  from 
the  islanders  and  the  Japanese,  Kozirefski  traced  the 
whole  chain  of  islands,  including  Matsmai  and  the 
northern  part  of  Japan.25*  The  map  which  bears 
Shestakof's  name  follows  very  closely  Kozirefski's  re- 
port and  is  probably  a  copy  of  his  map.255 

Six  years  after  Kozirefski's  adventures  among  the 

253  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  ii,  doc.  14,  46. 

254  Morskoi  Sbornik  (April,  1869,  pp.  84-85)  has  Kozirefski's  original  re- 
port. In  it  he  says,  "From  Lopatka  to  the  first  island,  Sumchu,  one  can  row 
in  a  baidara  in  two  or  three  hours.  On  the  second  island,  Purumshir,  the 
inhabitants  make  cloth  out  of  grass.  The  third  island  is  Onikutan.  On  the 
western  side  of  these  islands  are  three  not  very  large  islands.  The  fourth  is 
Araumakutan.  The  fifth  is  Siyaskutan,  the  sixth  is  Shikoku  to  which  the 
Japanese  come  for  metals.  The  seventh  is  Motogo,  eighth  Shashovo,  ninth 
Ushishir,  tenth  Katui,  eleventh  Shimushir.  The  twelfth  Iturpu  has  many 
people  and  many  rivers  at  the  mouths  of  which  good  anchorage  may  be  found. 
The  thirteenth  is  Urup,  the  fourteenth  Kunashir,  and  on  the  fifteenth  Matsmai 
there  is  a  Japanese  city.  Next  to  this  island  is  the  main  island  of  Japan.  In 
addition  to  these  enumerated  islands  there  are  other  small  islands  in  different 
quarters." 

255  Partly  on  account  of  his  Polish  descent,  and  partly  because  of  his  hav- 
ing become  a  monk,  writers  have  clothed  Kozirefski  with  considerable  romance. 
By  1730  a  report  was  current  at  Moscow  that  Kozirefski  "touche  par  les  prieres 
des  pauvres  de  la  Colonie,  des  Invalides,  des  Viellards,  des  malades,  des 
blesses,"  etc.,  he  became  a  monk  and  built  a  monastery  where  these  unfor- 
tunates could  find  a  home.  There  is  no  truth  in  all  this.  In  Siberia,  where 
he  was  well  known,  he  was  regarded  as  a  thoroughly  bad  and  dangerous 
man.  He  was  one  of  the  ringleaders  in  the  insurrection  of  1711-1712.  After 
his  return  from  the  Kurils  he  brought  on  his  own  account  several  thousand 
rubles'  worth  of  plunder.  Another  thief,  the  Prikaschik  Petrilofskoi,  the  same 
who  bought  the  stolen  furs  on  the  Oliutora,  made  him  disgorge  all  of  it,  and 
in  addition  forced  him  to  become  a  monk  in  1716  [Morskoi  Sbornik,  April, 
1869].  Ignatius  Kozirefski,  the  monk,  was  arrested  in  Kamchatka  in  1720 
and  sent  for  trial  to  Jakutsk  on  the  charge  of  having  made  seditious  speeches 
in  which  he  declared  that  it  can  not  be  very  wrong  to  kill  prikaschiks  since 


ii4  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Kuril  Islands,  Peter  the  Great  sent  two  men,  Feodor 
Luzhin  and  Ivan  Yevreinof,  on  a  semi-secret  expedition 
into  these  same  waters."56  It  has  been  suggested  that 
they  were  ordered  to  investigate  whether  there  were 
precious  metals  on  the  Kuril  Islands.257  This  is  quite 
possible,  especially  in  view  of  Kozirefski's  statement 
that  on  the  sixth  island  the  Japanese  obtained  metals. 
It  would  also  have  been  easy  for  the  czar  to  associate 
this  island  with  the  Gold  and  Silver  Islands  of  the 
Spaniards  and  the  Dutch.  The  instructions  of  these 
men,  other  than  the  secret  ones,  read  in  part: 

You  are  to  go  to  Kamchatka  and  farther,  as  you  have  been 
ordered,  and  determine  whether  Asia  and  America  are  united ; 
and  go  not  only  north  and  south  but  east  and  west,  and  put  on 
a  chart  all  that  you  see.258 

Luzhin  and  Yevreinof  left  Russia  early  in  1719,  and 
from  Jakutsk  they  departed  for  Kamchatka  in  the  early 
summer  of  1720.  Peter  was  very  solicitous  about  them 
and  tried  to  keep  in  touch  with  their  movements.  On 
their  return  to  Jakutsk  from  Kamchatka  the  local  of- 
ficers questioned  them,  but  they  refused  to  give  any  ac- 
count of  their  discoveries  to  others  than  to  the  czar.259 
Some  years  later  Muller  learned  from  the  navigators 
who  piloted  these  men  that  from  Okhotsk  they  sailed 
to  Kamchatka  and  from  there  to  the  Kuril  Islands  as 
far  as  the  fifth.     They  were  prevented  from  going  to 

those  who  kill  czars  are  quite  respectable  people  and  even  hold  office  under 
the  government.  It  would  seem  that  the  case  was  not  pushed  against  him  at 
Jakutsk.  He  was  asked  to  build  a  monastery  about  eighty  versts  from  the 
city.  Even  there  he  got  into  trouble  and  ran  away,  but  he  was  caught  and 
brought  back.  A  little  later  he  took  part  in  Shestakof's  expedition.  After 
failing  in  that  he  appeared  in  Moscow,  in  1730,  posing  as  a  saint  and  navi- 
gator [Delisle  Mss.~], 

25G  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  ii,  doc.  73,  290-291. 

257  Muller,  Sammlung  Russischer  Gcschichte,  vol.  iii,  109-110. 

258  Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  v,  doc.  3266. 

259  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  vol.  iv,  doc.  73,  290-291. 


KAMCHATKA  AND  THE  KURILS  115 


the  others  on  account  of  the  loss  of  their  anchors  in  a 
storm."00  In  1722  or  1723  Luzhin  and  his  companion 
reported  to  Peter,  but  just  what  passed  between  them 
is  not  known.  It  was  left  for  a  lieutenant  of  Bering's, 
Spanberg,  to  sail  among  these  islands  and  chart  the 
whole  group. 


260  Muller.     Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,  109-110. 


V.     TERRA  DEJESO 

Perhaps  no  other  part  of  the  globe,  leaving  the 
Arctic  regions  out  of  consideration,  remained  in  such 
cartographical  confusion  and  uncertainty  as  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean  during  the  seventeenth  century  and  the 
first  half  of  the  eighteenth.  It  was  not  altogether  from 
lack  of  effort  on  the  part  of  the  navigators,  for  between 
1611  and  1643  three  important  expeditions  were  sent 
out  for  the  purpose  of  discovery,  but  the  results  of 
these  voyages  were  little  understood  and  they  rather  be- 
fogged than  cleared  the  geographical  atmosphere.  One 
might  even  say  that  geography  had  lost  ground:  Cali- 
fornia and  Korea  are  generally  represented  as  penin- 
sulas in  the  sixteenth  and  as  islands  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  There  was  a  tendency,  too,  on  the  part  of 
certain  scholars,  to  treat  geography  as  a  speculative  sci- 
ence. To  these  men  the  part  of  the  Pacific  not  yet 
explored  offered  a  very  attractive  field  of  study. 

Generally  speaking  until  fifty  or  sixty  years  after  the 
discovery  of  the  New  World,  America  was  represented 
on  many  maps  as  a  large  outlying  island  of  Asia  not 
far  from  Japan,  or  as  a  part  of  the  Asiatic  mainland. 
After  a  time  it  became  evident  that  the  newly  found 
land  was  a  continent  and  was  so  indicated  on  Mun- 
ster's  map  ( 1541 )  and  on  various  earlier  ones.  America 
occupied  a  position  half  way  between  Europe  and  Asia 
and  was  separated  from  the  latter  in  the  north  by  a  sea 
or  a  wide  strait.  By  1560  America  and  Asia  were 
drawn  closely  together  in  the  north,  but  as  yet  the  strait 


u8  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

between  them  had  no  name.  Six  years  later  a  name 
was  given  to  it  by  Zaltieri ;  but  what  his  reasons  were 
for  calling  it  "Anian"201  are  not  certain.  Mercator 
employs  the  term  Anian  Strait  in  his  famous  map  of 
1569.  One  year  later  Ortellius  did  likewise.  Other 
map  makers  of  this  period  adopted  a  more  or  less  sim- 
ilar view. 

In  summing  up  one  may  say  that  until  about  1650  the 
cartographers  represented  Asia  as  separated  from  Am- 
erica by  a  strait  of  varying  width,  generally  known  as 
Anian,  without  hinting  at  any  intermediate  lands,  large 
or  small.2''2  It  is  important  to  bear  this  in  mind  in  view 
of  what  other  maps  delineate;  for  from  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  seventeenth  century  a  new  body  of  land  makes 
its  appearance,  designated  as  Jeso  and  by  various  other 
names,203  but  all  referring  more  or  less  to  the  same 
object.  Not  a  geographer  questioned  its  existence,  and 
yet  no  two  of  them  agreed  as  to  its  shape  and  size. 

When  the  Europeans  came  in  contact  with  the  Jap- 
anese they  learned  of  the  existence  of  a  body  of  land, 
Yeco,  north  of  Nippon.  This  news  was  reported  to 
Europe  by  a  Jesuit  as  early  as  1566.204  The  second  an- 
nouncement came  through  Richard  Cocks,  the  English 
factor  in  Japan,  who,  in  a  letter  to  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, dated  November  30,  1613,  tells  of  "an  island 
called  Yedzo,  which  is  thought  to  be  rather  some  part 
of  the  continent  of  Tartaria."205     In  the  same  year  that 

261  The  term  "Anian"  has  been  very  learnedly  discussed  by  Dr.  Sophus 
Ruge,  in  his  pamphlet  "Fretum  Anian."  This  scholar  traces  the  name  back 
to  Marco  Polo,  who  speaks  of  a  Chinese  province  with  a  name  similar  to  this 
one. 

262  Visscher's  map. 

263  Jesso,  Eso,  Jeco,  Iesso,  Yesso,  Yeso,  Yedso,  Yeco,  Compagnie  Land, 
Gama  Land,  etc. 

264  Recueil  de  Voyages  au  Nord  (Amsterdam,  1732),  vol.  iv,  20. 

265  Hakluyt   Society    (London,    1883),   vol.   ii,   258.     Cocks's  letter  was  not 


TERRA  DEJESO  119 


Cocks  sent  his  letter,  Camillo  de  Constanzo,  a  Jesuit, 
obtained  important  data  regarding  Jeso.200  Two  years 
later  Jerome  de  Angelis  sent  to  the  vice-provincial  of 
Japan  an  account  of  this  land.207  In  European  print 
the  name  Yezo  appeared  for  the  first  time  in  a  book 
published  at  Munich  in  i6i9.208  During  the  year  1620 
the  Jesuit  Caravaglio  went  from  Japan  into  Jeso.269 
The  year  following  Father  de  Angelis  crossed  over 
there  and  on  his  return  made  a  long  report.270  Al- 
though, he  says,  he  formerly  believed  Jeso  to  be  a  part  of 
the  mainland,  after  his  last  investigation  he  felt  quite 
convinced  of  its  insularity.  From  this  time  until  their 
expulsion  from  Japan  the  Jesuits  had  little  time  to  give 
to  the  study  of  Jeso;  but  other  Europeans  took  it  up 
and  carried  it  on. 

A  baseless  rumor  that  there  existed  gold  and  silver 
islands  east  of  Japan  led,  at  first,  the  Spaniards,  and 
later  the  Dutch  to  undertake  voyages  of  discovery.  The 
story  goes  that  in  1582  or  thereabouts,  a  Spanish  ship 
in  going  from  Manila  ran  into  a  storm  which  drove  her 
helplessly  before  it.  When  the  storm  had  ceased  the 
ship  found  herself  some  three  hundred  eighty  or  ninety 
Spanish  miles  east  of  Japan  and  in  latitude  thirty-seven 
and  one-half  degrees.271  On  looking  around  the  hearts 
of  the  crew  were  made  glad  at  the  sight  of  an  island; 
and  on  landing  they  were  greeted  hospitably  by  the 

published  for  a  long  time  after  it  was  received  and  had  therefore  little  influ- 
ence on  cartography. 

266  Xeleki,  Paul  Graf.  Atlas  zur  Geschichte  der  Kartographic  der  Jap- 
anischen  Inseln,  106. 

267  Recueil  de  Voyages  au  Nord,  vol.  iv,  20. 
-6S  Teleki,  Paul  Graf.     Atlas,  op.  cit. 

269  Recueil  de  Voyages  au  Nord,  vol.  iv,  20. 

270  —  Ibid. 

271  A  good  account  of  Vizcaino's  voyage  is  found  in  Dr.  Oskar  Nachod's 
Ein  Unentdecktes  Goldland  (Tokyo,  1910). 


120         RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

people.  Everywhere  they  saw  gold  and  silver,  even 
the  pots  and  pans  were  made  of  these  metals.272  This 
story  was  believed  in  Spain  and  Mexico. 

In  161 1  it  was  determined  to  send  an  expeditioK  from 
Mexico  to  these  islands.  Sebastian  Vizcaino  was  or- 
dered to  proceed  to  Japan  and  from  there  to  sail  in 
search  of  the  "Rica  de  Oro"  and  "Rica  de  Plata."  He 
arrived  in  Japan  in  June,  1611.  On  October  22,  he 
sailed  north  along  the  Japanese  coast  as  far  as  the  for- 
tieth parallel.  He  asked  many  questions  of  the  natives 
of  this  region,  and  they  gave  him  information  in  regard 
to  Korea,  Tartary,  and  Yeso  "island"  and  its  hairy  in- 
habitants. On  account  of  the  cold  which  was  more 
severe  than  that  to  which  his  crew  was  accustomed, 
Vizcaino  turned  back  to  Japan,  arriving  there  in  the 
last  days  of  December.  In  the  following  September 
he  set  out  once  more  to  find  the  islands,  going  first  east 
and  then  south  to  the  thirty-fourth  parallel.  But  it 
was  all  in  vain,  no  gold  and  silver  islands  were  to  be 
seen.  He  sailed  back  to  Japan;  and  this  was  the  last 
attempt  of  the  Spaniards  to  find  an  El  Dorado  in  this 
part  of  the  world.273 

Although  the  real  object  of  Vizcaino's  voyage  was 
meant  to  be  secret,  yet  the  Dutch  in  Japan  learned  of  it 
through  the  sailors.  William  Verstegen,  an  employee 
of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company,  in  1635  brought  the 
matter  to  the  attention  of  his  superiors  at  Batavia,  who 
referred  it  to  the  Board  of  Directors  at  Amsterdam. 
They  ordered  that  a  search  be  made  for  these  islands 
east  of  Japan,  and  along  the  coast  of  northern  Japan, 
Tartary,  and  Korea.274     In  accordance  with  these  in- 

272  Nachod,  Ein  Unentdecktes  Goldland. 

273  _  ibid. 

274  The  directors  probably  received  encouragement  from  the  report  which 
Caron  submitted  in   1636   (published  in  1648)   and  a  map  which  accompanied 


TERRA  DE  JESO  121 


structions  two  of  the  company's  boats  in  charge  of 
Mathijs  Quast  and  Abel  Jans  Tasman  left  Batavia  on 
June  2,  1639.275  In  the  course  of  the  summer  they 
sailed  north  as  far  as  the  forty-second  parallel  and  east 
of  Japan  six  hundred  Dutch  miles.  They  discovered 
the  Bonin  and  other  small  islands,  but  failed  to  locate 
the  "goudrycke  eylant."  In  the  meantime  scurvy  had 
broken  out  among  the  crew  and  further  search  had  to 
be  given  up  for  the  time  being. 

This  expedition  did  not  discourage  the  directors,  who 
said  that  the  failure  was  due  to  the  poor  health  of  the 
sailors.  They  requested  that  another  search  should  be 
made  and  in  particular  along  the  northern  coast  of 
Japan,  Tartary,  and  Korea.  Early  in  1643  Comman- 
deur  Maerten  Gerritsen  Vries,  on  the  flag-ship  Castri- 
cum,  and  Schipper  Hendrick  Cornelisz  Schaep,  on  the 
Breskens,  left  Batavia  to  find  these  islands.  On  May 
19,  when  off  the  southern  islands  of  Japan,  a  storm  sep- 
arated the  two  ships.276  Vries  continued  his  investiga- 
tion alone,  sailing  northwardly  along  the  Japanese 
coast,  and  yet  far  enough  away  from  it  to  prevent  him 
from  determining  scientifically  whether  Nippon  and 
Jeso  were  two  distinct  bodies  of  land.  On  June  9, 
Ainos  from  Jeso  came  on  board  for  the  first  time.  Grad- 
ually sailing  northward  Vries  passed  Jeso  and  came  to 
the  Kuril  Islands,  but  owing  to  the  foggy  weather  he 
did  not  know  this,  and  therefore  concluded  that  he  was 
continuously  in  sight  of  Jeso. 

it,  on  which  Japan  is  joined  to  Tartaria  by  "T'  Vaste  Landt  van  Iezzo."  A 
copy  of  this  map  is  doc.  328  of  the  Kohl  Collection. 

275  Quast's  journal  is  published  in  full  by  Teleki  in  his  atlas.  J.  E. 
Heeres  in  his  Journal  of  Tasman  has  an  excellent  brief  account  of  this  voyage. 

276  "pjjg  journal  of  Vries  was  published  for  the  first  time  at  Amsterdam  in 
1858,  entitled,  Reize  van  Maarten  Gerritsz  Vries  in  1643.  It  was  edited  by 
P.  A.  Leupe.  Siebold  also  contributed  valuable  notes  and  a  map.  Teleki 
has  a  good  account  of  the  voyage. 


122  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Between  June  15  and  20  two  of  the  Kurils  were  dis- 
covered. The  one  nearer  Jeso  was  called  State  Island 
and  the  one  east  of  that  Company  Land,  which  Vries 
believed  to  be  a  part  of  the  American  coast.277  From 
now  until  about  the  end  of  July  the  Castricum  followed 
various  courses,  north,  west,  south,  and  northwesterly 
and  easterly  along  the  coast  of  what  Vries  regarded  as 
Jeso.  On  July  26,  the  most  northerly  point  was 
reached,  the  southeastern  part  of  Sakhalin  Island,  and 
a  day  of  two  later  Cape  Patience  was  located  and 
named.  From  here  the  Castricum  sailed  southerly, 
passing  between  Company  Land  and  State  Island,  and 
then  southwesterly  towards  Jeso,  where  stops  were 
made  to  take  on  water  and  wood  and  to  make  inquiries 
about  precious  metals.  During  the  month  of  Septem- 
ber search  was  made  for  the  gold  and  silver  islands  be- 
tween the  thirty-sixth  and  thirty-ninth  parallels.  By 
the  beginning  of  October  the  boat  was  "460  milen  buy- 
ten  de  O.  cust  van  Japan"  and  still  no  islands.  This 
discouraging  work  determined  the  officers  to  give  up 
the  search  and  sail  south.  On  November  9,  the  Bres- 
kens  hove  in  sight,  and  nine  days  later  the  two  boats 
anchored  at  Tywan,  Formosa. 

When  the  Breskens  became  separated  from  the  Cas- 
tricum she  sailed  a  course  similar  to  the  flag-ship,  dis- 
covering also  State  Island  and  Company  Land.  She 
did  not,  however,  come  as  far  north  as  the  Castricum. 
On  account  of  the  thick  weather  Schaep  was  equally 
unable  to  tell  where  Jeso  ended,  so  that  he  came  back 
thinking  that  Jeso  extended  indefinitely. 

It  is  also  claimed  that  at  some  time  in  the  first  part  of 
the  seventeenth  century  a  Portuguese  sea  captain,  Juan 
de  Gama,  in  going  from  China  to  New  Spain,  discov- 

277  Reize,  op.  cit.,  ioo. 


TERRA  DE  JESO  123 


ered  a  body  of  land  in  about  the  same  locality  where 
Vries  saw  his  new  lands.  The  authority  for  De  Gama's 
voyage  and  discovery  is  Joao  Texeira,  who  noted  it  on 
his  map  of  1649. 

These  three  reports -that  of  the  Jesuits,  Vries,  and 
Texeira- reaching  the  European  public  as  they  did 
about  the  same  time,  completely  confused  the  carto- 
graphers and  offered  them  an  unlimited  field  for  the 
exercise  of  their  ingenuity.  Some  made  Jeso  an  is- 
land, others  a  continent,  still  others  a  part  of  Asia  or 
America. 

The  published  maps  on  which  Jeso  appears  for  the 
first  time  are  based  chiefly  on  the  Jesuit  letters,  and  per- 
haps to  some  extent  on  the  charts  of  the  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  navigators,  though  this  is  not  so  certain. 
After  the  publication  of  Jansson's  map  of  Japan,  in 
1650,  on  which  the  discoveries  of  Vries  are  set  forth, 
the  influence  of  the  Dutch  becomes  more  and  more  pro- 
nounced and  gradually  supplants  that  of  the  Jesuits. 

According  to  Robert  Dudley's  Arcano  del  Mare 
(1647),278  Yeso  is  set  apart  from  Tartary  by  a  narrow 
strait,  and  its  most  southwesterly  point,  just  north  of 
Korea,  is  Tessoy  Cape.  Going  east  from  this  cape 
twenty-three  degrees  one  comes  to  the  city  of  Mantzu- 
may,  and  from  there  Yeso  stretches  forty  degrees  far- 
ther in  the  same  direction  to  Iezo  Strait,  on  the  other 
side  of  which  is  America. 

Beginning  with  his  map  of  1652,  Nicholas  Sanson 
has  left  many  interesting  works  in  which  Jeso  is  noted. 
In  his  first  attempt  he  represented  it  as  a  large  body  of 

278  If  it  is  true,  as  some  hold,  that  there  was  an  edition  of  the  Arcano  del 
Mare  published  at  Florence  in  1630,  one  will  have  to  allow  the  claim  of  Kohl 
that  the  map  in  his  collection  is  a  copy  of  that  edition,  and  therefore  the  first 
published  map  having  Jeso  is  Dudley's  of  1630. 


124  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

land  between  Asia  and  America.279  Any  one  who 
should  attempt  to  walk  across  Jeso  from  strait  to  strait, 
at  the  rate  of  eight  leagues  a  day,  would  have  to  spend 
one  hundred  fifty  days  in  the  effort.280  In  some  of  his 
other  maps  Sanson  shows  a  great  deal  of  confusion  and 
uncertainty  as  to  what  to  do  with  Jeso.  On  one  map  he 
puts  the  Insula  Atlantis  about  where  Jeso  is  generally 
located.281 

Among  cartographers  who  regarded  Jeso  as  a  part 
of  America  was  Pierre  Duval.  In  1661  he  represented 
east  of  Asia  a  Detroit  de  Jesso  and  east  of  that  a  body 
of  land  with  the  words  Amerique  Terre  de  Jesso. 
Three  years  later  the  word  "Amerique"  is  left  out  on 
his  map,  and  in  its  place  one  may  read,  "Terre  de  Prov- 
ince de  Tessoy  Jesso."  Anian  Strait  is  between  Cali- 
fornia Island  and  Jesso.  So  far  he  seems  to  have  been 
influenced  by  Sanson,  but  in  1684  he  turns  for  guid- 
ance from  his  old  tutor  to  the  Dutch  map  makers.282 

Lugtenburg's  representation  of  Terra  de  Yesso  as  the 
home  of  the  lost  tribes  should  be  noted  here.  This 
map  gives  the  impression  that  Japan  is  joined  by  a  nar- 
row neck  of  land  to  Yedso,  a  part  of  the  Asiatic  conti- 
nent. State  (?)  Island  and  Vries  Strait  are  east  of  it, 
and  east  of  this  strait  is  a  body  of  land  extending  to 
Baffin's  Bay.  Over  this  land  is  written,  "Terra  de 
Yesso  Het  Land  van  de  tien  Stammen  der  Kindern 
Israels."283 

Fred  DeWitt,  an  Amsterdam  map  maker,  put  on  his 
map  two  Jesos :  one,  Terra  Esonis,  as  a  part  of  America, 

279  L'Asie  en  plusieurs  cartes. 

280  Both  Dudley  and  Sanson  drew  their  material  from  the  Jesuit  writings. 
Charlevoix,  P.    Histoire  du  Japan,  vol.  vi,  34. 

281  Asia  Fetus,  1667. 

282  Cartes  de  Geographie   (Paris,  1688). 

283  Number  330  in  the  Kohl  Collection. 


TERRA  DE  JESO  125 


and  another,  Yedso,  as  a  part  of  Asia.  Allard's  map 
gives  a  similar  idea;  and  other  maps  could  be  named 
to  prove  that  in  the  minds  of  many  scholars  there  exist- 
ed an  American  and  an  Asiatic  Jeso. 

On  another  interesting  map  Nippon  Island  is  united 
on  the  north  by  an  isthmus  to  a  large  body  of  land 
termed  Terra  Yedso.284  This  idea  was  suggested  many 
years  before  by  Sanson  in  his  small  atlas  of  Asia,  where 
he  said, 

Autres  encor  disent  que  ce  n'est  point  un  Detroit,  mais  un 
Isthme,  qui  attache  le  Japon  avec  le  Jesso  que  l'un  et  l'autre  ne 
font  q'une  isle. 

East  of  this  Nippon-Yedso  combination  Compagnie 
Land  is  indicated,  and  between  that  and  California 
stands  Terra  Esonis.  Vander  AA  has  a  map  which  dif- 
fers but  little  from  this  one.285 

P.  Coronelli,  a  scholar  greatly  honored  in  France 
and  Venice,  pictures,  on  one  of  the  large  globes  at  the 
Bibliotheque  Nationale,  north  of  Japan  Tartarie  de 
Yupi  and  east  of  that  State  Island,  followed  by  "Terra 
de  Iesso,  Ieco,  Yedco,  Esso,  et  Sesso,"  and  on  one  corner 
of  this  "Terra  dei  la  Campagnia."  All  this  runs  along 
eastwardly  until  it  becomes  lost  in  Nouva  Albione. 

Differing  from  Coronelli  were  certain  cartographers 
who  believed  that  Terre  de  Jesso  and  Terre  de  la  Cam- 
pagnie2S5a  were  not  the  same  lands.  One  map  has  Jesso 
as  a  part  of  Asia  and  Company  Land  east  of  it,  stretch- 
ing out  toward  America.  Guillaume  Delisle  brings 
out  this  point  several  times.  Gerard  van  Keulen  put 
Anian  Strait  between  California  and  Het  Campagnies 

284  Seutter,  Matthaus.     Atlas  Novus. 

285  p#  Vander  AA,  Mappemonde. 

280a  gee  jn  the  second  paragraph  above  "Compagnie."  Here  as  in  many 
other  cases  more  than  one  spelling  of  a  proper  noun  has  been  used,  showing 
the  confusion  in  the  spelling  of  such  that  existed  at  that  time. 


126  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Land,  which  continues  indefinitely  westward,  but  is 
doubtless  intended  to  represent  the  Spanish  discoveries, 
since  it  has  many  Spanish-American  names.  Jesso  is 
supposed  to  be  on  the  Asiatic  side.  Another  map 
bringing  out  the  same  conception  is  a  curious  mappe- 
monde  in  marble  at  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale.  "T. 
D'Yeco"  is  a  peninsular  body  of  land  in  Asia.  East  of 
Yeco  is  an  island,  probably  State,  and  east  of  that  Terra 
de  la  Compagnie  is  joined  to  America.  The  peculiar 
thing  about  his  mappemonde  is  that  north  of  "T. 
D'Yeco"  Asia  is  united  with  America  by  an  isthmus, 
so  that  a  boat  passing  De  Vries  Strait  going  northward 
would  enter  into  a  closed  sea. 

Nicholas  Witsen,  an  Amsterdam  scholar  of  great 
merit  whose  work  on  Tartary  is  even  now  regarded  as 
an  authority,  has  Terre  de  Jedso  (part  of  Asia)  looking 
across  Vries  Strait  to  a  very  large  Terra  de  la  Com- 
pagnie which  the  author  says  was  first  seen  by  Juan  de 
Gama. 

A  geographer  whose  opinion  carried  considerable 
weight  in  his  day  was  Jean  Baptiste  Homan  of  Nurn- 
berg.  On  one  of  his  maps  he  throws  out  a  hint  that 
what  Jean  De  Gama  discovered  was  perhaps  the  north- 
west coast  of  America.  On  the  map  in  question  Cali- 
fornia has  nearly  the  same  form  and  position  it  now 
holds.  Northwest  of  it  is  Terra  Esonis  Incognita  with 
this  legend  underneath:  Costa  Terrae  Borealis  in- 
cognita detecta  a  Dom  Joanne  de  Gama  Navigante  ex 
China  Nov  am  Hispaniam. 

Guillaume  Delisle  changed  his  views  several  times 
in  regard  to  Jeso.  One  of  these  is  especially  interest- 
ing. In  a  memoir  which  he  read  before  the  Paris 
Academy  in  1720,  he  advanced  an  opinion  that  Jeso  was 
a  part  of  Asia  and  Japan  a  peninsula  of  it  [Jeso],  and 


TERRA  DE  JESO  127 


that  this  Japan-Jeso  land  came  within  five  degrees  of 
California.286 

Such  were  the  confused  ideas  of  the  Europeans. 
Those  of  the  Asiatics  were  somewhat  more  clear.  Mar- 
tini ( 1614-1661 ) ,  a  Jesuit  who  had  spent  many  years  in 
China,  discusses  the  question  of  Yeco  in  his  atlas.  He 
says: 

Many  people  are  in  doubt  whether  Jesso  (Chinese  call  it  Yeco) 
is  an  island.  To  the  Chinese  it  is  a  part  of  Tartary  and  sep- 
arated by  a  narrow  strait  from  the  island  of  Japan.  Person- 
ally I  express  no  opinion  but  refer  the  reader  to  the  cartes  of 
Japan  in  my  atlas  which  cartes  I  brought  from  China. 

On  one  of  the  maps  referred  to  Yeco  is  marked  as  a 
small  island,  and  on  another  Eso  is  noted  but  without 
definite  shape  and  probably  intended  for  the  mainland. 

What  little  evidence  we  have  goes  to  show  that  the 
Japanese,  at  least  those  in  the  north,  believed  Jeso  to  be 
an  island.287  Kaempfer  tells  us  that  the  Japanese  re- 
ferred to  all  the  land  north  of  them  as  Yesso,  having  in 
mind  both  islands  and  mainland.  To  the  island  or  is- 
lands they  applied  the  term  Yesogasima  [Yeso-Island], 
and  to  the  continental  land  north  of  Yesogasima  they 
gave  the  name  Oku-Yeso  [Upper- Yeso].  It  can  not 
be  said,  however,  that  the  Japanese  had  any  very  well 
defined  ideas  as  to  Oku-Yeso,  notwithstanding  that  sev- 
eral expeditions  had  been  sent  out  by  the  government 
to  obtain  information.  One  of  these  sailed  in  1684. 
Another  a  few  years  later  claimed  to  have  discovered 
a  large  continent,  supposedly  America,  between  the  for- 
tieth and  fiftieth  degrees  of  latitude.     That  these  and 

286  This  idea  that  Japan  was  a  part  of  the  Asiatic  mainland  was  not  or- 
iginal with  Delisle.  In  1702  a  Japanese,  who  had  been  wrecked  in  Kam- 
chatka some  years  before,  was  brought  to  Moscow.  He  told  Peter  the  Great 
that  one  could  go  from  Japan  to  China  either  by  land  or  by  sea  [Russkaya 
Starina,  October,  1891]. 

287  Reize,  op  cit.,  174. 


128  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

other  Japanese  touched  somewhere  on  Kamchatka  is 
quite  possible.288  As  to  their  having  been  in  America 
the  Asiatic  junks  found  on  the  northwest  coast  are  very 
strong  evidence  of  its  likelihood.  Kaempfer  quotes 
from  Japanese  maps  and  books  to  the  effect  that 

Oku-Yeso  is  a  large  continent  which  extends  out  from  the 
great  Tartary,  and  extends  itself  behind  the  island  of  Yeso- 
gasima,  reaching  about  fifteen  degrees  of  longitude  further  east 
than  the  eastern  coast  of  Japan.  A  large  space  is  left  empty 
between  it  and  the  neighboring  America.289 

As  soon  as  the  existence  and  position  of  Kamchatka 
became  known  cartographers  concluded  that  the  Oku- 
Yeso  of  Japan  was  the  same  as  Russian  Kamchatka. 
Strahlenberg,  a  Swedish  officer  in  Siberian  exile,  writes 
of  Kamchatka,  "sonsten  Terra  de  Jedso  benennt."290 

In  Kaempfer's  works  a  map  is  inserted,  based  on  one 
which  the  author  brought  from  Japan,  representing 
Kamchatka  and  Terra  de  Iesso  as  the  same  land.  Bel- 
lin  draws  north  of  Nippon  the  island  of  Matsmay  (an 
other  name  for  Jeso  Island)  and  north  of  that  he  locates 
Kamchatka,  "que  les  Japonois  appellent  Terre  de  Je- 
so"291 Other  geographers  also  fell  in  with  this  easy 
explanation  which  seemed  to  clear  up  some  of  the  con- 
fusion. 

But  a  reaction  was  not  long  in  coming.  That  Jeso 
is  an  island  all  agreed;  but  what  is  Oku-Yeso,  or  Terre 
de  Jeso?  Is  it  Kamchatka?  To  the  thoughtful  scholar 
the  subject  became  exceedingly  perplexing,  and  we  do 
not  wonder  that  D'Anville  complained  that  Terre  de 
Jeco  "m 'avoir  mis  a  une  espece  de  torture"         Here 

288  Both  Atlasof  and  Bering  found  shipwrecked  Japanese  in  Kamchatka. 

289  Kaempfer  (Scheuchzer's  original  edition),  vol.  i,  67-68. 

290  Strahlenberg  (Stockholm,  1730),  vol.  ii. 

291  In  Charlevoix's  Japan,  edition   1736. 

292  Lettre  de  M.  D'Anville  au  R.  P.  Castel,  1737,  vol.  ii.     On  the  map  he 


TERRA  DE  JESO  129 


was  the  trouble:  Bering's  report  of  his  first  voyage 
placed  the  southern  point  of  Kamchatka  ten  minutes 
north  of  the  fifty-first  parallel;  Vries  saw  Jeso  in  lati- 
tude forty-nine  when  he  turned  back.  If  Kamchatka 
is  Terra  de  Jeso  and  ends  where  Bering  said,  what  did 
Vries  see?  Kozirefski,  a  Russian,  sailed  among  the 
Kuril  Islands  where  Vries  said  he  saw  a  continuous 
body  of  land.  These  questions  came  up  between  the 
years  1730  and  1740.  Geographers  tried  hard  to  bring 
order  out  of  this  puzzling  situation.  A  map  of  the 
Sansons  of  about  this  time  stretches  Kamchatka  almost 
to  Japan,  and  on  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula  are 
these  words,  "les  Kurilski  qu'on  croit  Colonie  du  Japan 
sous  le  nom  Terre  Jeso."  East  of  this  are  State  Island 
and  Company  Land.  D'Anville,  in  1737,  decided  that 
Kamchatka  was  not  Jeso  and  frankly  acknowledged  his 
inability  to  throw  light  on  the  subject.293  Bellin,  who 
in  1737,  strongly  defended  the  stand  he  took  regarding 
the  identity  of  Kamchatka  and  Terre  de  Jeso,  regretted 
his  words  a  few  years  later,29*  and  like  D'Anville 
pleaded  ignorance. 

Kaempfer  settled  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  the  insular- 
ity of  Jeso,  but  he  brought  Oku-Yeso  into  the  discus- 
sion and  thus  made  two  problems  to  solve  in  place  of 
one.  The  geographers  attempted  to  account  for  two 
Jesos  where  the  Jesuits  and  Vries  claimed  but  one,  and 
by  so  doing  they  became  badly  confused. 

has  a  Jeco  Island,  the  southern  point  of  which  he  calls  Matsmay.  North  of 
Jeco  is  State  Island,  Company  Land,  a  vacant  space,  a  few  scattered  rocks  or 
islets  south  of  Kamchatka,  on  the  end  of  which  is  the  word  "Kurilski." 

293  Lettre  de  M.  D'Anville  au  R.  P.  Castel,  1737,  vol.  ii. 

294  On  the  map  which  he  made  to  go  with  Charlevoix's  Japan,  edition 
1754,  he  has  Matsmay  (Jeso)  Island  and  above  it  a  larger  island  named  Terre 
de  Jeso,  on  the  western  portion  of  which  is  written:  "Toute  cette  partie  est 
inconnue."  From  there  on  northward  one  may  note  State  Island,  Company 
Land,  and  other  islands,  all  the  way  to  Kamchatka. 


130  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Guillaume  Delisle  sums  up  very  excellently  the  geo- 
graphical situation  in  the  North  Pacific  in  1720.295  He 
says  that  nothing  was  definitely  known  of  the  regions 
north  of  Mendocino  Cape  or  at  most  Cape  Blanco.  As 
to  the  Asiatic  side  one  could  not  speak  with  certainty 
of  any  point  north  of  the  southern  part  of  Tartary  and 
Nagasaki.  Knowledge  of  northern  Asia  stopped  with 
Nova  Zemlya,  and  it  was  even  a  question  whether  that 
body  of  land  were  an  island  or  a  part  of  the  mainland. 
If  one  were  then  to  draw  a  line  from  Nova  Zemlya  to, 
say,  Shanghai  he  would  divide  known  from  unknown 
Asia  just  as  Cape  Mendocino  separates  known  from  un- 
known America. 

All  these  vexing  questions  were  finally  and  conclu- 
sively settled,  not  by  the  cartographers,  but  by  the  navi- 
gators. The  two  Kamchatka  expeditions  sent  out  by 
Russia  located  scientifically  the  lands  of  these  regions 

295  Memoir  de  V  Academie,  1720.  The  three  Delisle  brothers  were  quite 
prominent  in  Russian  geographical  affairs  during  the  first  half  of  the  eight- 
eenth century.  In  order  not  to  confuse  them,  as  is  often  done,  a  brief  sketch 
of  each  follows  here.  Guillaume  (1675-1726),  the  oldest  and  best  known,  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  geographers  of  his  day.  After  1718  he  held  in 
France  the  title  of  premier  geograph  du  roi.  Peter  had  an  interview  with  him 
when  that  monarch  visited  Paris,  and  it  is  supposed  that  Delisle  was  in  some 
way  responsible  for  the  sending  out  of  the  Bering  expedition. 

Joseph  Nicholas  Delisle  (1688-1768)  was  a  well  known  astronomer.  At 
the  invitation  of  Peter  and  Catherine  he  came  to  St.  Petersburg  in  1725.  He 
remained  in  Russia  busily  engaged  in  astronomical  and  geographical  prob- 
lems until  1747.  It  was  he  who  drew  up  the  chart  for  Bering's  second  voy- 
age. Delisle's  memoir  of  1750  on  the  Russian  discoveries  made  him  many 
enemies  at  St.  Petersburg. 

Louis  Delisle  de  la  Croyere  (half  brother  to  the  other  two  men)  became 
the  pride  of  the  family  only  after  his  death.  A  part  of  his  life  he  spent  on  the 
frontier  of  Canada,  leading  an  irregular  life  and  writing  to  his  father  for 
money  with  which  to  pay  his  debts  [Delisle  Mss.,  no.  xvi,  121].  Nicholas 
found  Louis  a  position  at  the  Russian  capital,  and  from  there  he  went  with 
the  Bering  party  as  one  of  the  scientists.  He  was  on  Chirikof's  boat  on  the 
voyage  to  America  and  died  on  his  return  in  1741. 


TERRA  DE  JESO  131 


and  gave  them  their  proper  shape  and  size.  Alaska 
takes  the  place  of  Terra  de  Jeso  on  the  maps;  Company 
Land,  State  Island,  and  Gama  Land  are  three  of  the 
Kuril  Islands,  but  on  some  charts  they  still  retain  their 
old  names. 


VI.  BERING'S  FIRST  EXPEDITION 

Luzhin  and  Yevreinof  carried  out  neither  the  secret 
nor  the  public  instructions  of  the  czar.  But  the  matter 
did  not  end  here;  for  soon  after  their  return  Peter  set 
on  foot  another  expedition  to  determine  whether  Asia 
and  America  are  united.296     He  himself  drew  up  the 

-96  The  question  has  often  been  raised  why  did  Peter  send  out  this  costly 
expedition?  who  influenced  him?  was  it  Guillaume  Delisle?  was  it  the  French, 
Dutch,  or  Russian  Academy?  There  is  an  eagerness  to  lay  the  blame  or  praise 
on  some  one  individual  or  organization.  Peter  was  not  easily  influenced;  he 
had  ideas  of  his  own  but  he  never  turned  away  good  council  and  if  it  fitted 
in  with  his  views  he  put  it  into  action.  The  best  answer  to  all  the  above 
queries  may  be  found  in  Peter's  own  words  as  they  have  been  handed  down  to 
us  by  Nartof  who  was  almost  in  constant  attendance  on  the  Emperor  during  his 
last  days.  Nartof's  accounts  have  been  edited  by  Maikof  and  published  by  the 
Academy  of  Sciences,  under  the  title,  Razskazi  Nartova  O  Petre  Velikom  (St. 
Petersburg,  1891).  That  which  follows  is  a  free  but  accurate  translation  of 
Nartof's  narrative    (page  99) : 

"In  the  beginning  of  January  1725,  Peter  was  realizing  that  he  had  not 
long  to  live,  yet  his  unconquerable  spirit  was  busily  at  work  for  the  good  of  his 
country.  With  his  own  hand  he  drew  up  the  instructions  relative  to  the 
Kamchatka  Expedition  which  should  determine  the  relations  between  Asia  and 
America.  He  also  selected  the  officers  for  this  work -Vitus  Bering,  Martin 
Spangenberg  [this  was  the  usual  way  of  writing  it  at  this  period]  and  Alexei 
Chirikof. 

"I  was  then  almost  constantly  with  the  Emperor  and  saw  with  my  own  eyes 
how  eager  His  Majesty  was  to  get  the  expedition  under  way,  as  it  were,  con- 
scious that  his  end  was  near.  When  all  had  been  arranged  he  seemed  pleased 
and  content.  Calling  the  general-admiral  [Count  Apraxin]  to  him  he  said, 
'Bad  health  has  obliged  me  to  remain  at  home.  Recently  I  have  beeen  think- 
ing over  a  matter  which  has  been  on  my  mind  for  many  years  but  other 
affairs  have  prevented  me  from  carrying  it  out.  I  have  reference  to  the  finding 
a  passage  to  China  and  India  through  the  Arctic  Sea.  On  the  map  before  me 
there  is  indicated  such  a  passage  bearing  the  name  of  Anian.  There  must 
be  some  reason  for  that.  In  my  last  travels  I  discussed  the  subject  with  learned 
men  and  they  were  of  the  opinion  that  such  a  passage  could  be  found.  Now 
that  the  country  is  in  no  danger  from  enemies  we  should  strive  to  win  for  her 
glory  along  the  lines  of  the  Arts  and   Sciences.     In  seeking  such   a   passage 


134  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

instructions,  on  December  23,  1724,  but  did  not  sign 
them  until  January  26,  1725. 29?  For  brevity  and  com- 
prehensiveness the  document  may  serve  as  a  model: 

I.  To  build  in  Kamchatka  or  in  some  other  place  one  or  two 
decked  boats. 

II.  To  sail  on  these  boats  along  the  shore  which  runs  to  the 
north  and  which  (since  its  limits  are  unknown)  seems  to  be  a 
part  of  the  American  coast. 

III.  To  determine  where  it  joins  with  America.  To  sail  to 
some  settlement  under  European  jurisdiction,  and  if  a  European 
ship  should  be  met  with  learn  from  her  the  name  of  the  coast 
and  take  it  down  in  writing,  make  a  landing,  obtain  detailed  in- 
formation, draw  a  chart  and  bring  it  here.298 

About  a  month  after  signing  these  instructions  the 
great  czar  died;  but  his  plans  were  carried  on  by  the 
empress.  Before  his  death  he  chose  Bering299  to  carry 
out  the  projected  work.  Vitus  Bering  was  born  in 
Denmark  in  1681.  Since  1704  he  had  been  connected 
with  the  Russian  navy,  and  on  various  occasions  distin- 
guished himself  by  his  bravery  and  excellent  seaman- 
ship. On  account  of  these  qualities,  also  because  of  his 
experience  in  the  waters  of  the  East  and  West  Indies, 
he  was  recommended  by  Vice-admiral  Sivers  and  Con- 
treadmiral  Sinyavin.300  For  lieutenants  Bering  had 
given  him  Martin  Spanberg,  a  Dane,  and  Alexei  Chir- 

who  knows  but  perhaps  we  may  be  more  successful  than  the  Dutch  and  English 
who  have  made  many  such  attempts  along  the  American  coast.  I  have  writ- 
ten out  these  instructions  and  on  account  of  my  health,  I  entrust  the  execution 
of  them,  point  by  point,  to  you,  Fedor  Matveevich.'  " 

297  Zapiski  Hydrografic/ieskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  vii,  537. 

298  Zapiski  Woenno-Topograficheskavo  Depo,  part  x,  67-70. 

299  In  the  Lettre  d'un  Officier,  etc.,  13,  it  is  said  that  the  naval  officers  were 
notified  of  the  expedition  and  volunteers  were  called  for.  Among  those  who 
offered  themselves  was  Bering. 

300  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix,  642-644.  See  also 
Dela  Chranjas-Chijasa  V.  Admiralteistvo-Kollegi,  1724,  doc.  29,  p.  129-130. 
This  document  deals  with  the  selection  of  officers  and  has  comments  on  it  in 
Peter's  handwriting. 


BERING'S  FIRST  EXPEDITION  135 

ikof,  a  Russian.  A  number  of  minor  officers  were  taken 
from  the  capital,  while  many  others  were  selected  on 
the  way.301 

The  vanguard,  consisting  of  twenty-five  men,  left  St. 
Petersburg,  January  24,  1725,  but  Bering,  Spanberg, 
and  several  others  did  not  get  away  before  February  5. 
Nine  days  later  the  two  divisions  united  and  proceeded 
together  as  far  as  Tobolsk  where  they  arrived  March 
16.302  On  May  15,  they  left  this  place  and  sailed  down 
the  Irtysh  River.  From  the  confluence  of  the  Irtysh 
and  the  Ob,  they  followed  the  banks  of  the  latter  to 
Narim  and  from  there  they  went  up  the  Ketya  to  Ma- 
kofska  Fort  and  landed  July  19. 303  From  this  point 
the  material  was  portaged  across  seventy  versts304  to  the 
Yenisei.  Boats  were  in  readiness  for  them  and  they  all 
went  on  board  and  moved  slowly  and  with  difficulty  up 
the  Yenisei,  Tunguska,  and  Ilima  Rivers.  Ilimsk  was 
reached  September  29,  and  the  boats  tied  up  there  for 
the  winter.  Bering  would  have  liked  to  advance  still 
farther  that  season,  but  he  could  not  do  so  because  there 
was  no  possibility  of  his  reaching  Jakutsk  before  the 
cold  set  in,  neither  was  there  a  suitable  place  along  the 
road  where  comfortable  quarters  could  be  obtained.305 
On  the  Uskuyt  there  were,  however,  enough  accommo- 
dations for  a  small  party,  and  these  were  assigned  to 

soi  Two  pilots,  George  Morison  and  Richard  Ensel,  one  midshipman,  Peter 
Chaplin,  one  geodist,  Gregory  Polutof,  one  surgeon,  William  Bustofski,  one 
clerk,  Peter  Turchinof,  one  quartermaster,  Ivan  Borisof,  one  shipmaster,  Ivan 
Koslof,  thirteen  sailors,  four  carpenters,  three  mechanics,  and  three  appren- 
tices were  taken  from  St.  Petersburg.  The  priest,  Ilarion  Trusof,  the  com- 
missary, Ivan  Durasof,  the  geodist,  Feodor  Luzhin,  the  navigator,  Kondrati 
Moshkof,  Ivan  Shestakof,  twenty-four  soldiers,  and  several  mechanics  were 
commissioned  on  the  way. 

302  Zapiski    Woenno-Topograficheska'vo   Dcpo,  part  x,  67-70. 

303  _  Hid. 

304  a  verst  contains  about  three  thousand,  five  hundred  feet. 

305  Zapiski  Woenno-Topograficheskavo  Depo,  part  x,  67-70. 


136  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Spanberg  and  thirty  men.306  In  the  course  of  the  win- 
ter they  built  fourteen  lodkas  and  eighteen  good  sized 
barges.  Bering,  during  that  time  learned  all  he  could 
about  the  country  he  was  to  pass  through  from  men  who 
had  been  there.  Before  the  winter  was  quite  over  the 
commander  led  his  men  to  assist  Spanberg's  on  the  Us- 
kuyt,  and  the  two  gangs  joined  in  the  preparations  for 
the  descent  of  the  Lena.  On  May  5,  they  got  away  and, 
after  enduring  many  hardships,  arrived  at  Jatusk  in  de- 
tachments between  June  1  and  16.  This  was  an  im- 
portant station  because  it  was  to  supply  the  greater  part 
of  the  necessary  material  and  the  horses  for  transporta- 
tion to  Okhotsk.307 

Although  the  distance  between  Jakutsk  and  Okhotsk 
is  comparatively  short  (one  thousand  versts) ,  it  was  the 
hardest  and  most  dreaded  part  of  the  march.  Bering 
found  it  necessary  to  divide  his  force  into  three  parties: 
the  leadership  of  one  he  gave  to  Chirikof  of  the  second 
to  Spanberg,  and  the  third  he  took.  The  division  un- 
der him  he  split  into  three  sections.  The  one  he  com- 
manded contained  a  large  number  of  men  and  about 
two  hundred  horses,  each  loaded  with  five  puds  (one 
hundred  eighty  pounds)  of  flour,  and  arrived  at  Ok- 
hotsk October  1,  having  been  forty-five  days  on  the 
way.308  Not  so  fortunate  were  the  two  other  sections, 
and  they  endured  many  hardships  before  they  joined 
Bering.  About  the  middle  of  August  (earlier  than 
usual)  the  cold  set  in,  causing  a  great  deal  of  suffering 
so  that  many  horses  perished  on  the  way,  and  those  that 
reached  their  destination  died  from  starvation,  because 
it  was  too  late  to  provide  food  for  them.     At  Okhotsk 

306  Zapiski  Woenno-Topograficheska'vo  Depo,  part  x,  67-70. 

307  Ignatius  Kozirefski  was  here  at  this  time  and  from  him  Bering  learned 
much  about  the  navigation  of  the  Okhotsk  Sea  and  the  waters  of  Kamchatka. 

308  Zapiski  Woenno-Topograficheska'vo  Depo,  part  x,  71-72. 


BERING'S  FIRST  EXPEDITION  137 

Bering  found  a  few  huts  about  three  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  the  river.  He  at  once  put  his  men  to  work 
building  warehouses  and  living  quarters  for  the  winter. 
But  this  was  no  easy  task;  for,  the  horses  being  dead, 
the  material  had  to  be  carried  on  the  backs  of  the  men 
long  distances,  even  ten  versts.  In  addition  to  this 
work  fish  had  to  be  caught  and  salt  manufactured  for 
preserving  the  meat  from  the  cattle  which  came  in  but 
could  not  be  kept  until  spring  because  of  lack  of  food 
for  them.  This  hard  work  made  the  men  restless  and 
mutinous. 

The  company  under  Spanberg  was  the  greatest  suf- 
ferer. On  July  7  it  left  Jakutsk  in  thirteen  boats  (two 
others  followed  a  little  later),  on  which  were  two  hun- 
dred four  men  and  the  more  important  and  heavy  ma- 
terials and  provisions.  In  sending  them  by  this  land 
and  water  route  and  not  overland,  the  way  he  went, 
Bering  believed  it  possible  to  go  down  the  Lena,  up  the 
Aldan  and  Maja  to  Udoma  Cross,  and  from  there  over 
to  the  Urak  and  down  to  Okhotsk.  If  the  season  had 
not  been  an  unusual  one  and  Spanberg  had  not  been 
late  in  starting,  this  plan  might  have  succeeded.  But 
when  Spanberg  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  Gorbea  Riv- 
er, about  four  hundred  and  fifty  versts  from  his  objec- 
tive point,  it  became  so  cold  that  the  boats  froze  fast.309 
The  leader  decided  to  transport  the  more  needed  ma- 
terials overland,  and  for  this  purpose  he  made  during 
the  first  part  of  November  one  hundred  hand  sleds,  to 
which  he  and  his  men  harnessed  themselves.  Owing 
to  the  cold  and  hunger  the  progress  was  slow:  one  party 
drawing  forty  sleds  struggled  on  to  the  Povorotnoi  Riv- 
er and  gave  up;  another,  half  as  large,  plodded  on 
through  the  snow  to  the  Talkova  River  and  stopped; 

309  Zapiski  Woenno-Topograficheskavo  Depo,  part  x,  71-72. 


138  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

and  the  third,  led  by  Spanberg,  pushed  on  and  made 
Udoma  Cross  by  the  middle  of  December,  and  in  the 
first  days  of  January,  1727 310  reached  Okhotsk  with  the 
assistance  of  Bering,  who  sent  out  his  men  and  natives 
with  sleds  to  help  them.311  Spanberg  and  his  men  suf- 
fered severely.  Everything  that  came  in  their  way  was 
used  as  food:  they  chewed  leather  as  long  as  their  boot- 
tops  held  out,  and  considered  themselves  extremely  for- 
tunate to  find  the  carcasses  of  Bering's  horses  that  had 
dropped  dead  along  the  trail.312  A  few  of  the  men 
deserted  and  went  back  to  Jakutsk.  Two  of  them  died 
as  a  result  of  their  hardships,  on  February  2  and  Luzhin 
on  March  1 1. 

Ship  carpenters  had  preceded  Bering  to  Okhotsk, 
and  these  men  had  made  such  excellent  progress  in  the 
construction  of  a  boat  that  with  the  help  of  Bering  it 
was  possible  to  complete  her  during  the  winter  and 
spring.  On  June  8,  1727,  she  was  launched  and  named 
the  Fortune.  Twenty-two  days  later  Spanberg  sailed 
in  her  to  Bolshaya  River,  Kamchatka,  with  orders  to 
discharge  the  cargo  and  to  send  the  ship  builders  he 
had  on  board  across  to  Kamchatka  River  to  begin  the 

310  Zapiski   Woenno-Topograficheskavo   Depo,   part   x,   71-72. 

311  When  Bering  ordered  his  men  to  go  to  the  relief  of  Spanberg's  party 
they  refused,  at  first,  saving  that  they  were  already  overworked,  and  that 
they  had  as  yet  received  no  pay.  Bering  replied  that  the  authorities  at  Jakutsk 
and  not  he  were  to  blame  for  their  being  unpaid.  The  men  had  to  give  in. 
Ninety  of  them,  under  the  command  of  Spanberg,  left  Okhotsk  with  seventy- 
six  dog  teams  on  February  14.  They  suffered  so  much  on  the  way  that  a 
number  of  them  died  from  the  effects  of  it,  others  deserted  and  disappeared, 
and  still  others  went  to  Jakutsk  to  bring  charges  against  Bering.  The  more 
faithful  persevered  and  returned  with  loads  in  April,  but  this  was  such  a 
small  part  of  what  was  to  be  brought  that  it  was  necessary  to  send  another 
detachment  of  men  that  same  month.  Even  then  a  great  part  of  the  stores  had 
to  be  left  behind  until  later,  when  horses  could  be  procured.  Some  of  the 
material,  however,  was  sent  back  to  Jakutsk  because  it  could  not  be  trans- 
ported to  Okhotsk  in  time  to  be  of  service  to  Bering. 

312  Zapiski  Woenno-Topografichcskavo  Depo,  part  x,  71-72. 


BERING'S  FIRST  EXPEDITION  139 

construction  of  a  new  boat.313  On  July  3  Chirikof  came 
in,  bringing  two  thousand,  three  hundred  puds  of 
flour314  on  pack  horses  and  at  least  fifty  steers.315 

There  was  at  this  time  in  port  the  Lodiya,  a  boat  con- 
structed in  1720  for  the  use  of  the  tribute  gatherers.316 
This  vessel  was  placed  at  the  service  of  Bering,  who 
overhauled,  repaired,  and  launched  her  on  August  4.317 
Seventeen  days  later  the  two  ships,  the  Fortune  having 
returned  in  the  meantime,  set  sail  for  Kamchatka,318 
Bering  and  Spanberg  being  on  board  the  Fortune  and 
Chirikof  on  the  Lodiya.  Fair  winds  followed  them 
nearly  all  the  way  so  that  they  were  able  to  enter  the 
mouth  of  the  Bolshaya  River  September  i.319 

From  the  anchorage  in  Bolshaya  River  to  the  bank 
was  a  stretch  of  three  miles  of  shallow  water,  making 
it  necessary  to  discharge  the  cargo  into  small  boats,320 
a  long  and  tedious  task  which  took  up  the  whole  of  Sep- 
tember. From  here  to  Lower  Kamchatka  the  distance 
was  nearly  nine  hundred  versts  by  way  of  the  Bistraya 
River  to  its  head,  and  from  there  by  portage  to  the 
Kamchatka  River  and  down  that  stream  to  the  fort. 

313  Zapiski  Woenno-Topograficheskavo  Depo,  part  x,  72-73. 

314  _  m^ 

315  Delis le  Manuscripts,  no.  xxv,  5.  Chirikof  wintered  at  Jakutsk  and 
started  in  the  spring.  Nothing  is  said  of  his  march  and  this  leads  one  to  be- 
lieve that  he  suffered  little. 

316  Otchestvenniya  Zapiski,  vol.  lxxv,  15. 

317  While  the  men  were  loading  her  there  suddenly  appeared  large  flocks 
of  ducks.  All  hands  were  sent  to  hunt  and  in  a  few  days  as  many  as  five 
thousand  birds  were  killed. 

318  Zapiski  Woenno-Topograficheskavo  Depo,  part  x,  72-73. 

319  The  question  arises  why  did  not  Bering  go  directly  to  his  headquarters 
in  eastern  Kamchatka  instead  of  anchoring  on  the  western  side  of  the  penin- 
sula and  transporting  his  materials  overland?  Bering  justified  his  action  to 
Count  Apraxin  by  saying  that  he  chose  the  harder  course  for  fear  an  accident 
might  happen  if  he  came  all  the  way  by  water  [Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo 
Departamenta~\. 

320  Zapiski  JVoenno-Topograficheskavo  Depo,  part  x,  72-73. 


140  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Several  days  after  landing  Spanberg  and  a  force  of  men 
in  thirty  small  boats  attempted  to  follow  up  the  course 
just  indicated.  When  they  had  gone  a  short  distance 
it  became  evident  that  they  could  never  transport  their 
materials  that  way,  the  stream  was  too  swift  and  too 
dangerous  for  the  boats  which  were  being  caught  in  the 
current  and  capsized.  It  was  therefore  decided  to  land 
the  cargo  and  transport  as  much  of  it  as  possible  to 
Lower  Kamchatka  on  sledges  during  the  winter,  and 
to  float  the  remainder  down  the  Kamchatka  River  in 
the  spring.321 

Those  who  did  not  go  with  Spanberg  spent  their  time 
at  Bolsheretzk  Ostrog  in  hunting,  fishing,  drilling,  and 
in  making  ready  for  crossing  the  mountains.  On  Jan- 
uary 4,  1728,  a  party  with  seventy-eight  loaded  sledges 
left  the  fort  and  ten  days  later  Bering  followed  with 
another  party.  By  slow  marches  the  various  sections 
succeeded  in  straggling  into  lower  Kamchatka  between 
March  1 1  and  May  20. 

With  the  coming  of  Bering  work  on  the  new  boat, 
the  keel  of  which  was  laid  April  4s22  and  measured 
sixty  by  twenty  by  seven  and  a  half  feet,  was  pushed 
with  vigor.  On  June  8,  she  was  launched  and  chris- 
tened St.  Gabriel;  but  another  month  passed  before  she 
was  ready  for  sea.323 

On  July  13,  the  Gabriel  pulled  up  the  anchor  and 
headed  out  of  the  harbor.  She  had  on  board  forty- 
four  men,  including  officers  and  crew;324  and  she  was 

321  In  Kamchatka,  as  in  other  parts  of  Siberia,  the  natives  were  made  to 
do  a  great  deal  of  the  hard  work.  They  were  often  taken  from  their  occupa- 
tion when  they  could  least  afford  the  time. 

322  Zapiski  JVoenno-Topograficheska'uo  Depo,  part  x,  72-73. 

323  One  of  the  delays  was  caused  by  the  lack  of  tar  which  had  to  be  manu- 
factured on  the  spot. 

324  Captain  Bering,  Lieutenants  Spanberg  and  Chirikof,  one  midshipman, 
one   surgeon,   one   quartermaster,   one   navigator,  eight   sailors,   one  desyatnik, 


BERING'S  FIRST  EXPEDITION  141 

provisioned  for  a  year  with  as  good  food  as  is  carried 
by  any  modern  deep  water  sailing  ship.325  On  the  first 
day  the  boat  came  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and 
on  the  second  she  stood  out  to  sea  in  a  southerly  direc- 
tion in  order  to  clear  the  cape,  after  which  the  course 
was  changed  to  northerly.  During  July  15,  the  weath- 
er was  clear  but  calm,  and  by  midnight  eighteen  miles 
had  been  sailed.  A  fresh  southwest  breeze  blew  on 
the  sixteenth,  pushing  the  boat  along  at  the  rate  of  six 
and  a  half  knots  an  hour.  Towards  evening  it  calmed 
down,  however.  Foggy,  drizzly  weather  generally  pre- 
vailed on  the  seventeenth,  now  and  then  clearing  and 
allowing  a  view  of  the  snow-covered  mountains  in  the 
west.  It  was  almost  dead  calm  during  the  next  twen- 
ty-four hours,  so  that  only  eight  miles  were  sailed,  to 
fifty-seven  degrees,  thirty-nine  minutes.  To  keep  clear 
of  Urinski  Cape  the  course  was  shifted  to  south-south- 
east and  east-southeast.  On  account  of  the  calm  of  the 
succeeding  day  the  boat  advanced  only  about  twenty 
miles;  but  on  the  twentieth  and  twenty-first,  keeping  a 
northeast  by  north  course,  one  hundred  ninety-two  miles 
were  sailed.  One  hundred  miles  more  were  added  on 
the  twenty-second,  bringing  the  Gabriel  to  sixty  de- 
grees, sixteen  minutes.  Fair  progress  was  made  on 
the  twenty-third.  Land  was  in  sight  nearly  all  this 
time,  the  course  being  almost  parallel  to  the  shore.  It 
was  warm  and  pleasant  on  the  twenty-fourth,  and  the 
ship  drifted  so  near  the  land  that  it  was  necessary  to 

one  apprentice,  one  drummer,  one  sail  maker,  nine  soldiers,  one  rope  maker, 
five  carpenters,  two  Cossacks,  two  interpreters,  and  six  servants  [Zapiski 
IVoenno-Topograficheshavo  Depo,  part  x,  74]. 

325  Among  the  articles  of  food  there  were  salted  beef  and  venison,  fish  and 
fish  oil,  liquor  distilled  from  sweet  grass.  On  the  way  fresh  meat  was  bought 
from  the  Chukchi.  One  can  judge  the  quality  and  quantity  of  food  on  board 
by  the  fact  that  there  is  no  case  of  sickness  reported  [Zapiski  JVoenno-Topo- 
graficheskavo  Depo,  part  x,  74]. 


142  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

keep  her  off.  Very  little  headway  is  recorded  for  the 
next  two  days.  Cape  St.  Thaddeus  was  sighted  on  the 
twenty-seventh,  and  to  double  it  the  course  was  changed 
to  southeast  by  east.  Rain  and  fog  enveloped  the  boat 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  twenty-eighth,  forcing  her  to 
keep  about  fifteen  miles  from  shore.  On  the  thirtieth, 
when  within  a  mile  or  so  from  shore,  Bering  ordered 
to  let  go  the  anchor  and  sent  Chaplin  ashore  to  find 
fresh  water  and  anchorage.  He  returned  without  hav- 
ing found  either.  An  advance  of  eighty-five  miles  in 
a  northeast  direction  is  recorded  for  the  thirty-first. 

August  came  in  with  fog,  rain,  and  wind.  Under 
these  conditions  Bering  steered  for  the  open  sea,  but 
when  on  the  following  morning  he  found  himself  six- 
teen miles  from  shore  he  headed  back  for  land,  and  in 
tacking  up  and  down  he  sighted  a  bay  which  he  named 
Holy  Cross.  Two  days  were  spent  in  this  place  look- 
ing in  vain  for  fresh  water  and  good  anchorage.  Stand- 
ing out  to  sea  on  August  4,  the  Gabriel  sailed  a  course 
parallel  to  the  coast,  which  runs  here  in  an  east-south- 
east direction.  The  same  course  was  kept  on  the  fifth 
and  sixth.  At  the  close  of  the  last  mentioned  day  the 
lookout  sighted  another  bay,  which  was  christened 
Transfiguration.  Early  the  following  morning  Chap- 
lin went  ashore.  He  returned  with  twenty-two  bar- 
rels of  mountain  stream  water  and  reported  that  he  had 
come  across  a  hut  showing  signs  of  recent  habitation 
but  no  inmates  were  to  be  seen. 

When  the  water  had  been  taken  on  board  the  Gabriel 
went  out  to  sea.  About  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning 
of  August  8  a  small  boat  holding  eight  men  was  seen 
approaching,  and  when  near  enough  the  Koriaks  en- 
gaged the  newcomers  in  conversation.  They  said  that 
they  were  Chukchi,  and  in  turn  inquired  whence  and 


BERING'S  FIRST  EXPEDITION  143 

why  the  white  men  came.  Bering's  invitation  to  come 
on  board  was  debated  for  a  time,  finally  one  man  got 
into  the  water  and  swam  to  the  boat  with  the  aid  of 
inflated  bladders.  This  man  told  the  Koriak  inter- 
preters that  the  Chukchi  inhabited  the  neighboring 
shores,  and  that  they  long  since  heard  of  the  Russians.326 
In  answer  to  the  question  as  to  the  position  of  the  Ana- 
duir  he  pointed  to  the  west.     He  said  also  that 

Their  land  forms  two  bays  and  turns  to  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Koluima,  that  the  sea  was  all  about  them  and  large  sand  banks, 
and  that  the  sea  into  which  the  Koluima  falls  always  has  ice  in 
it.  That  they  had  heard  of  the  Russians  through  their  rela- 
tives, who  go  sometimes  to  Koluima  on  their  deer  sleds  but 
never  by  water.  That  there  was  an  island  in  the  sea  on  which 
live  some  of  our  people,  but  knew  of  no  other  islands  or  lands.327 

Bering  gave  this  Chukchi  presents  and  with  these  he 
floated  back  to  his  own  boat.  From  the  Gabriel  it 
appeared  as  if  he  were  attempting  to  persuade  his  com- 
rades to  go  on  board,  but  this  they  would  not  do. 

Continuing  on  their  northerly  course,  the  explorers 
rounded  Chukotski  Cape.  The  observation  on  the 
ninth  indicated  sixty-four  degrees,  ten  minutes.  Ow- 
ing to  light  winds  little  progress  was  made  during  the 
two  days  succeeding.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  eleventh 
as  island  loomed  up,  to  which  Bering  gave  the  name  St. 
Lawrence.  Chaplin  was  ordered  ashore  to  see  if  he 
could  find  people,  but  he  was  unsuccessful,  although 
he  did  see  huts.  Head  winds  and  drizzly  weather  pre- 
vented the  boat  from  sailing  more  than  two-thirds  of  a 
degree  during  the  whole  day  of  the  twelfth.  The  wind 
shifted  to  fair  on  the  thirteenth,  taking  the  Gabriel 
ninety-four  miles  north,  to  about  sixty-five  degrees, 
thirty  minutes.     In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  Bering 

828  Zapiski  IFoenno-Topograficheskavo  Depo,  part  x,  74. 

327  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  vii,  549-550. 


i44  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

summoned  his  officers  to  consult  as  to  what  should  be 
done.     He  said  to  them: 

Since  we  have  come  to  latitude  sixty-five  degrees,  thirty  minutes 
north,  and,  according  to  my  opinion  and  the  statements  of  the 
Chukchi,  we  have  reached  and  passed  the  most  easterly  point  of 
their  land,  the  question  is  now,  shall  we  go  farther  north?  If 
so,  how  far?  When  should  we  begin  to  look  for  harbors? 
Where  does  it  seem  best  -  looking  at  it  from  the  point  of  view 
of  best  serving  our  country  —  to  go  for  the  winter  in  order  to 
protect  men  and  boat  ?  328 

The  officers  were  divided  in  opinion.     Spanberg,  the 
senior  officer,  said: 

Having  come  as  far  north  as  we  have,  and  since  on  the  Chukchi 
coast  there  are  no  harbors,  nor  wood  ...  so  that  we  could 
preserve  ourselves  in  such  winter  weather  as  we  have  in  this 
region;  and  since  these  natives  are  not  peaceful  ...  I 
suggest  that  after  we  have  gone  on  the  course  we  are  on  until 
the  sixteenth  of  this  month,  and  if  by  that  time  we  are  not  able 
to  reach  sixty-six  degrees,  we  should  then  in  God's  name  turn 
about  and  betimes  seek  shelter  and  harbor  on  the  Kamchatka 
River  whence  we  came,  in  order  to  save  men  and  boat. 

Chirikof  made  this  argument: 

As  we  have  no  positive  information  as  to  the  degree  north  lati- 
tude Europeans  have  ever  reached  in  the  Arctic  Ocean  on  the 
Asiatic  side  we  can  not  know  with  certainty  whether  America 
is  really  separated  from  Asia  unless  we  touch  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Koluima,  or  at  least  the  ice,  because  it  is  well  known  that 
there  is  always  drift  ice  in  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Therefore  it 
seems  to  me  that  according  to  your  instructions  we  ought  to  sail 
without  questioning  —  unless  we  are  hindered  by  the  ice,  or  the 
coast  turns  to  the  west—  to  the  mouth  of  the  Koluima,  as  your 
instructions  demand  [a  place  under  European  jurisdiction]. 
But  should  the  land  continue  still  farther  to  the  north,  it  would 
be  necessary  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  this  month  to  look  for  winter 
quarters  in  this  neighborhood,  and  above  all  opposite  Chukotski 
Cape,  where,  according  to  the  accounts  of  the  Chukchi  through 

358  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  vii,  551-552. 


BERING'S  FIRST  EXPEDITION  145 

Peter  Tartarinof,  there  is  a  forest.  And  if  up  to  that  time 
winds  are  contrary,  then  look  there  by  all  means  for  a  place  to 
winter.329 

Chirikof's  advice  was  rejected  and  Spanberg's  ac- 
cepted. Until  the  sixteenth  the  same  northerly  course 
was  held.  About  three  o'clock  of  that  afternoon,  when 
in  latitude  sixty-seven,  eighteen  minutes,  longitude  one 
hundred  ninety-three  degrees,  seven  minutes  east  from 
Greenwich,  the  order  was  given  to  put  about  and  set 
course  for  Kamchatka.  With  the  wind  at  the  ship's 
back,  good  progress  was  made  the  rest  of  that  day.  On 
the  next  morning  the  island  of  St.  Diomede  was  discov- 
ered and  named.  A  heavy  atmosphere  hid  the  Amer- 
ican shore,  otherwise  the  Russians  would  probably  have 
noticed  it.  With  the  breeze  aft  the  Gabriel  succeeded 
in  coming  in  sight  of  St.  Lawrence  Island  on  the  eigh- 
teenth. Chukotski  Cape  was  passed  on  the  nineteenth 
but  owing  to  the  thick  weather  was  not  seen.  From 
about  midnight  of  the  twentieth  until  eight  in  the  morn- 
ing the  Gabriel  lay  to  on  account  of  the  calm  and  heavy 
fog.  During  the  twenty-first  four  native  boats  with 
about  forty  Chukchi  drew  near.  They  were  more  cour- 
ageous than  their  brothers  who  visited  the  boat  before, 
and  came  on  board  and  entered  into  conversation  with 
the  interpreters,  whom  they  told  that  they  had  long 
since  heard  of  the  Russians.  One  of  them  said  that  he 
had  been  at  the  Anaduir  fort.  Among  other  things  the 
Chukchi  told  their  questioners  that  all  along  the  coast 
lived  Chukchi,  that  their  friends  went  to  the  Koluima 
"on  deer  and  never  by  sea."  Before  departing  they 
traded  off  deer  meat,  fish,  fresh  water,  red  and  blue  fox 
skins,  and  four  walrus  tusks  for  needles  and  like  ob- 
jects.330 

329  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  vii,   551-552. 

330  Zapiski   JVoenno-Topograficheskavo  Depo,  part  x,  74. 


146  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Transfiguration  Bay  came  in  sight  on  the  twenty-first 
and  St.  Thaddeus  Mountain  one  day  later.  From  this 
day  to  the  twenty-fifth  there  was  a  calm,  then  followed 
a  fair  breeze  which  blew  to  the  end  of  the  month.  So 
far  the  voyage  had  been  uneventful,  without  danger  or 
excitement,  but  on  the  last  day  of  August  the  St.  Gabriel 
came  very  near  being  lost.  The  boat  was  close  to  the 
shore  when  the  sails  gave  away,  probably  due  to  an  un- 
expected wind-puff  from  the  mountains.  The  rigging 
got  tangled  up,  and  the  vessel  became  so  unmanageable 
that  it  was  necessary  to  drop  the  anchor  to  keep  her  off 
the  rocks.  It  took  nearly  a  whole  day  to  repair  the 
damages.  On  September  i  a  new  start  was  made,  and 
without  any  more  accidents  the  mouth  of  the  Kamchat- 
ka River  was  reached  the  next  day;  but  it  was  not  be- 
fore the  seventh  that  the  anchor  was  dropped  higher 
up  the  stream  and  all  hands  went  ashore. 

During  the  long  winter  Bering  talked  with  the  old 
residents  of  Kamchatka,  who  told  him  that  they  be- 
lieved in  the  existence  of  a  body  of  land  close  to  Kam- 
chatka. To  prove  their  statement  they  said  that  in  171 5 
there  was  a  man  in  Kamchatka  who  claimed  that  his 
home  was  east  of  the  peninsula,  and  that  some  years 
previous  he  and  some  others  of  his  people  had  been 
taken  prisoners  on  the  island  of  Karaginski  where  they 
were  hunting.  He  said  also  that  where  he  came  from 
there  were  forests  and  rivers  that  flowed  into  the  Kam- 
chatka Sea;  and  that  they  used  skin  boats  similar  to 
those  in  Kamchatka.  This,  and  other  evidence  col- 
lected there,  added  to  his  own  observations,  which  he 
later  embodied  in  a  report,  determined  Bering  to  in- 
vestigate the  matter  more  fully. 

Early  in  the  spring,  1729,  the  boats  were  put  in  condi- 
tion for  the  return  to  Okhotsk  and  the  search  for  the  land 


BERING'S  FIRST  EXPEDITION  147 

mentioned  above.331  On  June  6,  the  Gabriel  got  under 
sail  and  moved  along  steadily  with  a  light  breeze  on 
this  and  the  next  day,  reaching  north  latitude  fifty-five 
degrees,  thirty-seven  minutes  and  distant  from  Kam- 
chatka two  degrees,  twenty-one  minutes.  The  course 
steered,  east  by  south,  was  the  one  on  which  Bering  ex- 
pected to  find  land.  A  north-northwest  wind  blew  on 
the  eighth,  driving  the  boat  into  latitude  fifty-five  de- 
grees, thirty-two  minutes,  and  from  the  port  of  sailing 
four  degrees,  seven  minutes.  There  was  a  heavy  breeze 
on  the  ninth:  the  first  part  of  the  day  the  boat  sailed 
east-southeast,  but  later  in  the  day  Bering  giving  up 
hope  of  finding  land,  put  about  and  went  on  a  south- 
southwest  course.332  If  he  had  gone  a  little  farther  he 
would  have  come  to  the  island  where  he  later  found  his 
grave  and  which  now  bears  his  name. 

On  account  of  variable  winds  the  Gabriel  did  not 
enter  Bolshaya  River  until  July  3.  Taking  on  the  re- 
mainder of  his  crew,  Bering  sailed  away  for  Okhotsk 
July  14,  and  ten  days  later  reached  that  port.  From 
here  he  went  to  St.  Petersburg,  following  the  usual 
route,  partly  by  land  and  partly  by  water,  and  after 
some  hardships  reached  that  city  on  March  1,  1730.333 

In  the  time  of  Bering  and  since  then  the  question  has 
been  whether  this  expedition  accomplished  what  it  set 
out  to  do ;  whether  it  clearly  demonstrated  that  America 
and  Asia  were  separated  by  water?  Notwithstanding 
Bering's  affirmations,  many  of  the  leading  men  at  the 
capital  said  that  it  did  not334  and  did  not  hesitate  to  tell 

331  Zapiski  Woenno-Topograficheskavo  Depo,  part  x,  75. 

332  J.  N.  Delisle  in  his  Memoir  of  1750  [p.  5]  states  that  Bering  told  him 
that  he  saws  signs  of  land  between  the  parallels  of  fifty  and  sixty;  and  in 
this  locality  Delisle  placed  a  body  of  land  on  his  map  (1750). 

333  Zapiski  W 'oenno-Topograficheskavo  Depo,  part  x,  75. 

334  Gmelin,  Voyage  en  Sibirie:  "L'Amiraute  crut  avoir  des  raisons  im- 
portantes  pour  regarder  la  decision  comme  en  quelque  facon  douteuse." 


148  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Bering  so  in  very  positive  language  just  before  he  went 
on  his  second  expedition.  That  Bering  himself  was  con- 
vinced that  he  had  done  his  duty  and  had  obeyed  his 
orders  there  is  no  doubt.  In  his  report  to  the  empress 
he  says: 

On  the  fifteenth  335  of  August  we  came  to  latitude  fifty-seven 
degrees,  eighteen  minutes,  and  I  concluded  that  according  to  all 
indications  the  instruction  of  the  emperor  of  glorious  and  im- 
mortal memory  had  been  carried  out.  I  based  my  conclusion 
on  the  fact  that  there  was  no  more  land  to  the  north,  nor  did 
any  land  join  the  Chukchi  or  East  Capes,  and  so  I  turned  back. 
Had  I  gone  farther  and  met  with  head  winds  it  would  have 
been  impossible  to  return  that  summer;  and  to  winter  in  these 
regions  was  out  of  the  question,  because  there  are  no  forests,  and 
the  people  are  not  under  Russian  jurisdiction  but  do  as  they 
please.336 

Even  before  going  to  sea  Bering  believed  that  the 
two  continents  were  not  united.  When  at  Yeniseisk 
he  saw  the  hardships  and  expense  of  transporting  all 
his  materials  across  the  continent,  he  proposed  to  solve 
the  problem  before  him  by  going  to  Kamchatka  by  way 
of  the  Koluima: 

If  it  were  decided  to  go  from  the  mouth  of  the  Koluima  to 
the  Anaduir,  where  it  is  quite  possible  to  go,  as  the  new  maps 
of  Asia  indicate  and  it  is  said  that  formerly  such  has  been  done, 
then  this  expedition  might  be  accomplished  with  less  expense.337 

Bering  did  not  appreciate  sufficiently  the  fact  that  his 
was  a  scientific  expedition,  and  that  his  arguments  need- 
ed scientific  demonstration.  It  was  hardly  worth  while 
to  send  him  to  Kamchatka  to  bring  back  the  opinions  of 
the  Chukchi  and  hunters.       Since  he  accepted  their 

335  According  to  the  log  book,  which  reckoned  time  from  noon,  it  was 
August  i6,  but  in  the  ordinary  way  of  computing  time  it  was  the  afternoon 
of  August  15. 

336  Zapiski   Woenno-Topograficheskavo  Depo,  part  x,  74. 

337  Zapiski  Hydrografichcskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  vii,  548. 


BERING'S  FIRST  EXPEDITION  149 

views  on  one  point  why  did  he  reject  them  on  another 
and  fail  to  look  for  land  opposite  Chukotski  Cape? 
Why  this  great  hurry  to  get  away?  Navigation  in  these 
waters  was  open  for  at  least  six  weeks  more.  Captain 
Cook  sailed  on  until  he  was  blocked  by  ice.  Bering 
could  have  done  as  much.  If  he  was  willing  to  go 
from  the  Koluima  to  the  Anaduir,  why  was  he  not 
equally  willing  to  go  from  the  Anaduir  to  the  Koluima 
and  thus  obtain  proof  which  would  have  settled  the 
question  of  the  relation  of  Asia  and  America?  Though 
it  seems  unkind  to  say  so,  yet  it  is  true  that  the  leader  of 
this  expedition  failed  at  the  critical  moment,  not  from 
lack  of  courage  or  fear  of  hardships,  but  merely  from 
not  realizing  what  his  position  demanded.  Bering  be- 
longed to  that  class  of  sea  captains,  found  in  all  ports, 
who,  given  a  ship  and  a  chart,  will  go  anywhere  with- 
out flinching,  but  who,  at  the  same  time,  is  neither  by 
nature  nor  education  fitted  to  head  scientific  expedi- 
tions, and  least  of  all  in  the  Arctic  regions. 

On  the  other  hand  it  is  not  altogether  just  to  find 
fault  with  Bering  for  not  seeing  the  American  coast. 
The  whole  time  that  he  sailed  in  the  strait  the  weather 
was  thick.  Not  until  Cook's  voyage  did  the  world 
learn  how  near  the  two  continents  actually  were.  A 
map  of  the  St.  Petersburg  Academy,  dated  1773,338  still 
puts  twenty  degrees  as  the  narrowest  place  in  Bering 
Strait.  Nor,  as  was  said  before,  is  it  fair  to  blame  him 
for  not  seeing  Bering  Island.  All  criticism  would  have 
been  turned  into  praise  had  he  remained  in  these  waters 
a  little  longer  time,  doing  his  very  best  and  doing  it  in  a 
scientific  manner. 


338  This  map   is  in  the  archives  of  the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs  at 
Paris. 


VII.  THE  CHUKCHI  AND  THE  DISCOVERY 
OF  AMERICA 

Of  Siberia's  many  warlike  peoples  the  Chukchi  were 
easily  the  first,  and  they  resisted  for  a  longer  time  than 
any  of  the  others  the  attempt  of  the  Russians  to  subdue 
them.  Not  only  did  they  drive  the  Russians  from  their 
country,  but  they  even  followed  them  to  their  forts  and 
attacked  them  and  their  native  allies.  They  probably 
would  have  been  left  undisturbed  for  a  longer  time  than 
they  actually  were  had  it  not  been  for  an  old  report, 
revived  in  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  of 
the  existence  of  a  large  inhabited  island  east  of  the 
Lena.  No  one  was  quite  certain  as  to  the  position  of 
this  new  land,  for  although  the  Siberian  Cossacks  of  the 
eighteenth  century  knew  well  how  far  it  was  from  the 
head-waters  of  one  river  to  that  of  another,  they  were 
ignorant  of  the  relative  distance  between  the  mouths  of 
the  streams.  This  is  not  at  all  surprising  when  we  con- 
sider that  these  men  were  sailors  only  by  force  of  neces- 
sity, that  they  had  no  acquaintance  with  marine  instru- 
ments, and  that  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century 
navigation  was  not  practiced  extensively,  even  the  mak- 
ing of  kotshi  having  been  forgotten.339  It  is  no  wonder 
then  that  whenever  a  hunter  heard  of  or  saw  an  island, 
be  it  near  the  Lena,  Kamchatka,  Penjinsk,  Ouda,  or 
wherever  it  might  be,  it  was  at  once  identified  with  the 
old  rumored  inhabited  island  east  of  the  Lena. 

After  1708  serious  efforts  were  made  to  determine 

339  Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii  XVII  Weka,  vol.  i,  doc.  118,  505. 


i52  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

with  some  certainty  the  location  of  the  island  or  islands. 
At  the  various  posts  old  hunters  were  questioned,  and 
most  of  their  answers  show,  among  other  things,  the 
confusion  in  the  mind  of  the  average  Cossack  regarding 
the  geography  of  eastern  Siberia.  One  of  the  interest- 
ing depositions  was  made  by  Peter  Popof.  He  said 
that  in  January,  171 1,  he,  with  others  went  to  subdue 
the  Chukchi  living  on  the  Anadirski  Nos  (a  cape  at  the 
entrance  to  Bering  Strait).  While  on  this  expedition 
he  received  from  the  Chukchi  information  regarding 
the  lands  about  them.  They  told  him  that  opposite 
Anadirski  Cape,  stretching  out  both  into  the  Koluima 
and  Anaduir  Seas,  there  was  an  island  inhabited  by  peo- 
ple having  pieces  of  walrus  tusks  in  their  cheeks.  From 
time  immemorial  war  had  existed  between  the  Chukchi 
and  these  islanders,  ten  of  whom  were  at  this  time  held 
as  prisoners,  and  these  Popof  saw.  From  the  cape  to 
the  island  one  could  go  in  a  boat  in  the  summer,  or  on 
deer  in  winter  in  one  day.  On  the  island,  which  the 
Chukchi  call  "Large  Country,"340  there  are  various 
kinds  of  animals  and  trees  not  found  on  the  cape.  The 
islanders  have  a  language  different  from  the  Chukchi. 
This  and  one  or  two  other  depositions  of  a  similar 
character  show  that  the  Chukchi  were  aware  of  the  ex- 
istence of  Bering  Strait,  the  island  or  islands  in  it,  and 
the  coast  which  is  now  known  to  be  America.  But  this 
must  not  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Russians  knew 
all  that.  Popof's  statements  received  no  more  and  no 
less  credence  than  some  others  wholly  untrustworthy. 
The  Siberians  had  their  minds  made  up  that  an  island 
existed  east  of  the  Lena  and  north  of  the  mainland,  and 
believing  that  the  Chukchi  Peninsula  was  much  nar- 
rower than  it  really  it,  they  interpreted  Popof's  "op- 

340  Pamyatn'iki  Sibirskoi  Istorii  XVII  JVeka,  vol.  i,  doc.  108. 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA  153 

posite  Anadirski  Cape"  to  mean  not  east,  but  north  of 
that  cape,  and  the  Large  Country  is  so  located  on  Shes- 
takof's  map.  There  is  no  evidence  for  the  belief  or  the 
assumption  that  before  Bering's  time  the  Russians  in 
Siberia  associated  these  islands  with  America,  or  that 
they  gave  even  a  thought  to  that  country.  It  was  pure- 
ly an  accident  that  America  was  discovered  by  them, 
and  they  did  not  know  until  much  later  what  they  had 
really  accomplished. 

In  another  chapter  the  history  of  Kamchatka  has  been 
traced  and  it  was  shown  how  all  the  energies  of  the 
Siberian  government  were  for  a  time  brought  into  play 
in  order  to  retain  that  country.  After  the  discovery  of 
the  Okhotsk-Kamchatka  water  route  there  followed  a 
period  of  comparative  peace  and  recuperation.  Neith- 
er the  government  nor  the  restless  and  adventurous  Si- 
berians were  quite  at  ease,  however,  so  long  as  unsub- 
dued natives  were  about  them.  Afanase  Shestakof,  a 
daring  golova  of  the  Cossacks,  conceived  the  idea  of 
conquering  northeastern  Siberia.  He  laid  his  plans  in 
writing  before  the  Russian  Senate ;  but  not  satisfied  with 
this  he  appeared  in  person  before  that  body,  bringing 
with  him  a  map  which  now  bears  his  name,  although 
he  probably  had  little  to  do  in  drawing  it  up,  since  he 
could  neither  read  nor  write.  He  was,  however,  a  per- 
suasive speaker,  and  as  his  projects  coincided  with  the 
wishes  of  the  government  his  petition  was  granted.  On 
March  23,  1727,  a  Senate  order  was  issued  authorizing 
Shestakof  to  proceed  to  Siberia  for  the  purpose  of  put- 
ting down  the  hostile  natives  and  looking  after  the  new 
lands.341  For  this  work  fifteen  hundred  men  and  the 
necessary  war  material  and  other  supplies  were  granted. 
From  St.  Petersburg  were  sent  along  the  pilot  Hens, 

341  Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  vii,  doc.  5049. 


fr-(y- 


~'J  {*• 


Sketch  illustrating  Gwosdef's  Voyage 

[Delisle  Manuscripts,  xxv,  16,  A} 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA  155 

assistant  pilot  Fedorof,  geodist  Gwosdef,  a  mineralog- 
ist, ten  sailors,  several  mechanics,  also  four  men  to  make 
fire-works  with  which  to  frighten  the  natives  during  a 
battle.  Shestakof  was  not  to  have  complete  control  of 
the  company.  The  governor  of  Siberia  was  ordered  to 
select  some  fit  man  to  be  associated  with  him,  and  this 
honor  fell  on  Dimitri  Pavlutski,  captain  of  dragoons. 

Soon  after  leaving  Tobolsk  the  two  leaders  began 
quarreling  and  fighting,  the  other  members  of  the  ex- 
pedition taking  part,  generally  against  Shestakof.  The 
company  became  demoralized,  and  remained  for  a 
whole  month  inactive  at  Ilimsk,  and  would  probably 
have  wasted  there  much  more  time  had  not  the  monk 
Ignatius  Kozirefski  taken  upon  himself  the  role  of 
peacemaker  and  brought  the  two  men  to  a  more  agree- 
able frame  of  mind.342  They  continued  their  march  to 
Jakutsk,  where  Shestakof  busied  himself  for  some  time 
in  all  kinds  of  evil  doing.  Leaving  Pavlutski  behind 
him,  who  was  to  go  to  the  Anaduir,  Shestakof  set  out 
in  the  spring  of  1729  for  Okhotsk.  On  arriving  he  took 
over  the  Gabriel  and  the  Fortune,  the  two  boats  left 
by  Bering,  and  went  about  building  two  others,  the 
larger  of  which  he  named  the  Eastern  Gabriel  and  the 
smaller  the  Lion.  The  Gabriel  he  sent  in  charge  of  his 
nephew  Ivan  Shestakof  to  explore  the  coast  south  of 
Okhotsk  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ouda,  in  which  locality 
search  was  made  for  new  lands.  From  there  the  boat 
was  to  cruise  along  the  Kuril  Islands  to  Lower  Kam- 
chatka and,  if  time  permitted,  to  go  in  search  of  the 
Large  Country.     The  Fortune,  in  command  of  his  son 

342  Kozirefski  became  a  member  of  the  expedition.  In  August,  1728,  he 
was  sent  down  the  Lena  from  Jakutsk  to  look  for  lands  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  Before  reaching  the  destination  of  the  boat,  Evers,  was  wrecked  on 
the  ice,  and  the  party  turned  back. 


156  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Vasili,  was  to  go  to  Bolshaya  River  and  chart  the  Kuril 
Islands. 

Shestakof  took  upon  himself  the  conquest  of  the 
Koriaks  and  the  Chukchi.  He  planned  to  go  on  board 
the  Eastern  Gabriel  and  to  sail  to  the  Penjinsk  Bay  and 
build  there  a  fort,  then  proceed  overland  to  the  Oliu- 
tora  River  and  build  another  fort,  and  from  there 
march  to  the  Anaduir,  where  arrangements  would  be 
made  for  the  conquest  of  the  Chukchi.  The  Lion  had 
instructions  to  follow  the  Eastern  Gabriel  so  as  to  ren- 
der help  in  case  of  need  and  to  make  her  winter  quar- 
ters on  the  Tigil  River,  from  which  point  she  was  to  sail 
in  the  spring  around  Kamchatka  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Anaduir.  Early  in  the  fall  of  1729  Shestakof  with  a 
company  of  ninety-three  men  set  sail  for  Penjinsk  Bay, 
but  on  account  of  the  head  winds  he  was  forced  to  land 
off  the  Taui  River  and  send  back  the  boat.  On  Novem- 
ber 23,  having  by  this  time  increased  his  force  to  a  little 
over  one  hundred  men,  chiefly  natives,  he  began  his 
march  along  the  coast  to  the  home  of  the  Koriaks.  Those 
whom  he  met  on  the  way,  being  generally  few  in  num- 
ber, he  either  conquered  or  killed.  When  he  had 
reached  the  River  Paren  (west  shore  of  Penjinsk  Bay), 
he  learned  that  the  Chukchi  were  in  the  neighborhood 
making  war  on  the  Koriaks.  Shestakof  followed  them 
and  on  March  14,  1730,  the  two  camps  faced  each  other 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Egache  River  (northern 
part  of  the  bay) .  At  that  time  Shestakof  had  with  him 
one  hundred  fifty  men,  but  the  number  of  the  enemy  is 
not  known.  The  Russian  leader  lined  up  his  men  in  a 
military  formation.  On  his  right  he  stationed  the  Tun- 
gus  and  the  natives  of  the  Taui  region,  on  the  left  were 
the  Koriaks  and  Taui  people,  and  the  center  was  in  the 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA  157 

hands  of  the  Russians  and  Jakuts.  The  battle  opened 
by  the  discharge  of  firearms  by  the  Russians.  It  was 
immediately  answered  by  a  cloud  of  arrows  from  the 
Chukchi.  Before  the  Russians  could  reload  the  Chuk- 
chi swept  down  on  them  in  a  mass,  and  after  driving  off 
the  left  wing  and  then  crushing  the  right,  concentrated 
their  efforts  on  the  center,  which  gave  way.  Shestakof 
was  in  the  midst  of  the  fight  and  was  wounded  by  an 
arrow  entering  his  throat.  He  tried  to  save  himself  by 
escaping  on  a  reindeer  sled  which  stood  near  by;  but 
unfortunately  for  him  the  sled  belonged  to  the  Chukchi 
and  the  deer  dragged  him  into  the  camp  of  the  enemy 
where  he  was  killed.  Altogether  thirty-one  men  lost 
their  lives  on  the  side  of  the  Russians.  After  helping 
themselves  to  the  firearms  and  other  stores  of  the  enemy 
the  Chukchi  withdrew,  leaving  the  dead  bodies  on  the 
field,  and  Shestakof's  later  found  Christian  burial  at 
Anaduirsk.  When  the  Russian  forces  reunited  after 
the  flight  they  were  disorganized  and  disobedient  to  the 
second  in  command  and  quite  useless  for  effective  ser- 
vice. 

Elsewhere  Shestakof's  plans  miscarried  equally.  The 
Lion  followed  the  Eastern  Gabriel,  but  being  unable 
to  find  her  at  the  designated  rendezvous,  sailed  in  search 
of  her  until  the  cold  weather  forced  the  captain  to  seek 
a  haven  on  the  Yana  River.  In  the  course  of  the  win- 
ter the  Koriaks  attacked  and  killed  all  but  five  of  the 
crew,  and  plundered  and  burned  the  boat.  The  Ga- 
briel and  the  Fortune,  although  they  carried  out  in  great 
part  their  instructions,  added  very  little  to  what  was 
then  already  known  of  the  coast. 

Pavlutski,  who  was  left  behind  at  Jakutsk  by  Shesta- 
kof, started  for  the  Anaduir  in  August,  1729,  and  spent 


158  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

the  winter  at  the  Lower  Koluima  Ostrog.  As  early  as 
April  25,  1730,343  the  news  of  Shestakof's  death  reached 
him.  He  immediately  sent  a  messenger  to  Jakutsk  to 
hurry  the  men  and  provisions  to  the  Anaduir.  To  Hens, 
Fedorof,  and  Gwosdef,  who  were  at  this  time  at  Ok- 
hotsk, he  sent  word  to  take  charge  of  the  Gabriel  and 
bring  her  around  to  the  Anaduir.  After  considerable 
difficulty  the  two  Gabriels  sailed  away  for  Kamchatka 
in  September,  1730.  The  Eastern  was  wrecked  before 
reaching  Bolshaya  River,  but  the  Saint  arrived  at  her 
destination  and  wintered  there.  During  the  summer 
following  Hens  took  the  boat  to  Lower  Kamchatka, 
where  the  winter  of  1731-1732  was  spent.  At  this  place 
he  received  orders  from  Pavlutski  that  as  soon  as  navi- 
gation was  opened  he  was  to  take  the  Gabriel  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Anaduir  and  to  the  Anadirski  Cape  and 
from  there  go  in  search  of  the  Large  Country  and  take 
tribute  from  its  inhabitants.  When  it  came  time  for 
starting  Hens  was  too  ill  to  go  and  was  therefore  left 
behind.  His  assistant  Fedorof  was  in  such  bad  health 
that  he  had  to  be  carried  on  board.  The  burden  and 
responsibility  of  the  expedition  fell  on  the  geodist 
Gwosdef,  and  to  some  extent  on  Moshkof,  who  had 
formerly  served  under  Bering. 

The  boat  left  Kamchatka  July  23,  and  returned  in  the 
last  days  of  September,  1732,  and  immediately  the  offi- 
cers sent  in  a  report  of  their  voyage.  Fedorof  died  in 
February,  1733,  and  five  months  later  Gwosdef  for- 
warded the  log  book  and  a  brief  account  of  the  sum- 
mer's work  to  Okhotsk.  Strange  to  say  neither  Pav- 
lutski nor  the  officers  at  Okhotsk  notified  the  Admiralty 
College  of  what  these  men  had  done,  and  it  was  not  until 
1738  that  this  body  heard  of  it,  and  then  only  indirectly 

343  Morskoi  Sbornik,  February,  1869,  p.  22.     Paper  by  A.  Sgibnef. 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA  159 

through  one  of  the  sailors  who  had  been  sent  from  To- 
bolsk to  St.  Petersburg  on  a  criminal  charge.344  Steps 
were  at  once  taken  to  secure  more  definite  information, 
but  seemingly  without  immediate  results.  In  1741  the 
authorities  at  Okhotsk  requested  Gwosdef  and  Skuri- 
chin,  another  member  of  the  expedition,  to  draw  up 
fuller  reports,  extracts  from  which  were  sent  to  Irkutsk. 
Those  in  power  realizing  the  importance  of  the  achieve- 
ment, or  perhaps  on  account  of  pressure  from  the  cap- 
ital, issued  an  imperial  order  in  July,  1742,  demanding 
a  fuller  report  of  the  islands  and  Large  Country  men- 
tioned in  the  extracts.  It  was  further  requested  that  in 
case  any  new  information  came  in  it  should  be  forward- 
ed at  once  to  Irkutsk.345  In  addition  to  these  orders, 
Spanberg,  who  had  succeeded  Bering  in  command, 
asked  Gwosdef  to  give  him  a  report  of  the  voyage.  This 
was  done  in  September,  1743,  and  a  copy  was  sent  to  the 
Admiralty  College.  The  account  here  given  is  based 
on  this  document,  and  other  information  found  in  the 
Delisle  manuscripts.  When  one  takes  into  considera- 
tion the  fact  that  Gwosdef  wrote  his  report  ten  years 
after  the  event  had  taken  place  and  from  memory,  it  is 
not  all  surprising  that  there  is  an  indefiniteness  about 
places,  and  that  the  accounts  of  the  different  members 
do  not  always  agree. 

Michael  Spiridovinich  Gwosdef  had  had  extensive 
preparation  for  his  work,  having  studied  at  two  schools 
from  1716  to  1721.  From  the  latter  year  until  he  went 
with  Shestakof  he  was  employed  at  Novogorod.  The 
remainder  of  his  life  (he  died  after  1754)  he  passed  in 
various  parts  of  Siberia,  particularly  on  the  Okhotsk 
coast.     Of  the  man's  personality  we  know  little  that  is 

344  Delisle  Mss.     See  Appendix. 

345  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix,  1851. 


160  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

either  good  or  bad.  That  he  and  Fedorof  disagreed 
does  not  prove  much  either  way.  Fedorof,  had  he  lived, 
would  have  resented  the  unfavorable  remarks  Gwosdef 
made  about  him  and  would  probably  have  said  some 
unkind  words  in  return.  There  is  no  reason,  however, 
for  believing  that  Fedorof  would  have  challenged  the 
main  points  of  the  voyage  as  told  by  Gwosdef,  and  here 
presented  in  abbreviated  form. 

In  May,  1732,  we  received  orders  from  Major  Pavlutski, 
who  was  at  the  time  at  the  Anaduir  fort,  to  go  on  board  the 
Gabriel  with  the  pilot  and  underpilot  and  sail  around  Kam- 
chatka Cape  to  the  mouth  of  the  Anaduir  and  opposite  Ana- 
dirski  Cape  to  what  is  known  as  the  Large  Country,  examine 
and  count  the  islands  there,  and  gather  tribute  from  the  inhab- 
itants.346 On  July  23,  we  left  Kamchatka  River,  and  four  days 
later  Kamchatka  Cape  was  doubled.  We  came  to  Anadirski 
Cape  August  3,  and  from  there  went  to  the  islands  to  collect 
tribute.  Moshkof  told  us  of  an  island  Bering  had  discovered 
and  we  sailed  about  in  order  to  find  it.  By  this  manoeuvring 
we  reached  the  southern  part  of  Chukotski  Cape,  where,  on 
August  5,  we  anchored  three  versts  from  shore.  It  was  calm 
and  I  went  on  land  to  examine  the  coast  and  fetch  drinking 
water.  Close  to  the  shore  we  observed  a  small  fresh  stream, 
into  which  we  pulled.  The  country  seemed  uninhabited;  but 
not  far  from  where  we  stood  was  a  herd  of  deer,  numbering 
about  one  hundred  fifty  or  more,  guarded  by  two  men,  who  ran 
away  on  seeing  us.  I  killed  two  of  the  deer,  filled  two  barrels 
with  water,  and  went  on  board.  The  next  day  two  Chukchi 
came  toward  the  ship  in  two  "baidars"  but  would  not  approach 
near  enough  so  that  we  could  enter  into  conversation  with  them. 
When  they  had  looked  at  us  for  a  time  they  pulled  away.  On 
the  morrow  I,  with  nine  men,  went  to  the  spot  from  which  I  had 
seen  the  natives  issue  the  day  before,  but  all  that  we  found  there 

348  In  the  Lettre  d'un  Officier  de  la  Marine  Russiene  (p.  40)  the  statement 
is  made  that  Pavlutski  ordered  Gwosdef  to  bring  the  provisions  left  by  Ber- 
ing to  the  country  of  the  Chukchi,  whom  Pavlutski  was  fighting.  Gwosdef 
could  not  find  Pavlutski  and  therefore  started  back  and  accidentally  ran  into 
the  American   coast. 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA  161 

were  two  huts  made  of  earth  and  whalebone.  As  we  started 
back  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  two  men  who  ran  away  on  seeing 
us.  We  got  under  sail  on  the  eighth,  steering  for  an  island  on 
the  course  suggested  by  Moshkof.  On  the  following  day  Fe- 
dorof  sent  me  a  note  saying  that  in  his  opinion  we  had  not  yet 
reached  the  place  in  question  [Large  Country]  since  we  were 
still  south  of  Chukotski  Cape,  and  asked  for  my  opinion.  On 
the  tenth,  we  sailed  back  to  the  spot  where  we  had  been  a  few 
days  before  and  took  on  fresh  water.  Two  days  later  we  ran 
into  a  calm  and  anchored.  On  going  ashore  we  saw  huts  and 
people,  who,  on  noticing  us,  pulled  away  from  the  land  in  three 
"baidars."  We  managed  to  get  into  conversation  with  them 
and  asked  them  for  tribute,  which  they  refused  to  give.  Hav- 
ing a  fair  wind  on  the  fifteenth  we  went  on  our  way  and  on  the 
seventeenth  sighted  an  island,  but  on  account  of  the  head  wind  we 
could  not  approach  it  but  had  to  keep  close  to  Chukotski  Cape. 
Here  we  saw  many  Chukchi  with  whom  we  tried  to  enter  into 
conversation  but  without  much  success.  When  the  wind  shifted 
once  more  to  fair  we  steered  again  for  the  northern  end  of  the 
island  [one  of  the  Diomedes].  Our  attempt  to  land  was  re- 
sisted by  a  shower  of  arrows,  to  which  we  replied  with  muskets. 
After  a  great  deal  of  difficulty  the  natives  told  us  that  they  were 
Chukchi  and  that  some  of  their  people  had  fought  with  the 
other  Chukchi  against  Pavlutski.  In  cruising  about  the  island, 
which  is  about  two  and  a  half  versts  long  and  a  verst  wide,  we 
came  across  other  natives  but  all  refused  to  pay  tribute.  We 
made  a  landing  and  examined  their  homes,  and  from  the  island 
we  saw  the  Large  Country.  It  was  near  one  o'clock  of  the 
morning  of  August  20  when  we  left  the  first  island,  and  six 
hours  later  we  anchored  off  the  second,  which  is  smaller  than  the 
first  and  about  a  half  of  a  mile  distant.  A  ship's  boat  and  a 
baidara  were  sent  to  the  shore,  but  meeting  with  an  unfriendly 
reception  they  returned.  About  three  o'clock  of  the  afternoon 
of  August  21  we  sailed  for  the  Large  Country  and  anchored 
about  four  versts  from  its  shore.  It  was  now  Fedorof's  watch, 
and  he,  without  consulting  any  one,  gave  orders  to  haul  up  the 
anchor  and  approach  the  southern  point  of  the  shore.  From 
there  we  could  see  huts,  but  in  spite  of  our  best  efforts  we  did 
not  come  as  close  to  them  as  we  wished  on  account  of  the  head 


1 62  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

wind  and  the  shallow  water.  The  breeze  veering  to  north- 
northwest,  we  were  obliged  to  stand  out  to  sea  on  a  southwest 
course  and  by  doing  so  came  to  the  fourth  island  on  the  twenty- 
second.  A  strong  wind  was  blowing,  and  when  we  tried  to  near 
the  shore  the  sails  gave  way.  The  sailors  then  came  to  me  and 
asked  that  we  return  to  Kamchatka  because  of  the  lateness  of 
the  season  and  the  stormy  weather.  I  referred  them  to  the 
underpilot  without  whose  consent  I  could  not  order  such  a  move. 
In  the  meantime  there  came  to  us  from  the  island  a  Chukchi  in 
a  leather  boat  which  had  room  for  but  one  man.  He  was 
dressed  in  a  shirt  of  whale  intestines  which  was  fastened  about 
the  opening  of  the  boat  in  such  a  manner  that  no  water  could 
enter  even  if  a  big  wave  should  strike  it.  He  told  us  that 
Chukchi  lived  in  the  Large  Country,  where  there  were  forests, 
streams,  and  animals.  We  had  no  opportunity  of  going  ashore, 
and  from  the  distance  we  could  not  tell  whether  all  that  he  told 
us  of  the  Large  Country  was  true  or  not.  When  he  was  gone 
the  sailors  spoke  to  me  again  about  returning  to  Kamchatka, 
and  I  answered  them  as  before.  They  then  held  a  council  and 
drew  up  a  petition  addressed  to  me  and  the  underpilot,  enumer- 
ating many  reasons  why  we  should  go  back.  Taking  these  argu- 
ments into  consideration  we  decided  to  return  and  entered  the 
mouth  of  the  Kamchatka  River  September  28.  Outside  of  the 
islands  enumerated  we  saw  no  others,  and  the  reason  for  not  in- 
dicating their  exact  position  is  that  the  log  book  Fedorof  and  I 
kept  was  sent  to  Okhotsk  in  1733.  Another  reason  is  that  Fe- 
dorof when  on  watch  often  failed  to  make  any  observations  in 
the  journal.  On  returning  to  Kamchatka  I  asked  his  aid  in 
drawing  up  a  map,  but  he  refused  to  join  me,  and  it  was  im- 
possible for  me  to  undertake  it  alone,  for  the  reasons  just  enu- 
merated. 

This  is  all  that  is  known  of  Gwosdef's  discovery,  and 
it  is  quite  evident  that  neither  he  nor  those  with  him 
were  in  the  least  aware  that  they  had  seen  the  Ameri- 
can coast.  To  them  Large  Country  was,  as  they  ex- 
pected it  to  be,  an  island;  for  according  to  Gwosdef 's 
words  after  anchoring  off  the  first  and  second  islands 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA  163 

he  sailed  for  the  Large  Country  [third  island]  and 
from  there  to  the  "fourth  island." 

Pavlutski,  who  had  reached  the  Anaduir  fort  on 
September  3,  1730,  busied  himself  in  strengthening  the 
defenses  of  that  ostrog  and  making  ready  for  his  fight 
against  the  Chukchi,  who  had  become  unusually  bold 
since  their  victory  over  Shestakof.  By  March  12  all 
was  in  readiness.  Taking  with  him  one  hundred  sixty 
Koriaks,  sixty  Yukagirs,  and  two  hundred  fifteen  Rus- 
sians, he  marched  northwardly  along  the  White  River 
and  on  to  the  Arctic  Sea,  then  eastwardly  with  the  in- 
tention of  going  around  the  whole  Chukchi  country. 
At  first  he  met  with  little  resistance,  but  from  about  the 
middle  of  June  the  enemy  appeared  before  him  in  large 
numbers.  On  June  17,  he  was  opposed  by  seven  hun- 
dred warriors,  of  whom  four  hundred  fifty  were  killed 
and  one  hundred  fifty  were  taken  prisoners.  Near  Ber- 
ing Strait,  on  June  30,  one  thousand  Chukchi  faced 
him,  and  of  this  number  three  hundred  were  killed  and 
ten  captured.  Four  thousand  deer  were  also  taken. 
Two  weeks  later  another  company  of  five  hundred 
blocked  his  way,  and  these  were  also  defeated.  Pav- 
lutski and  those  under  him  returned  to  the  Anaduir  on 
October  21,  173 1,  reporting  that  they  had  suffered  little 
loss,  while  hundreds  of  the  enemy  were  killed.347 

In  the  spring  of  1732  Pavlutski  led  his  large  force 
against  the  Koriaks  who  had  destroyed  the  Lion.  The 
enemy,  being  in  small  numbers  and  not  expecting  an 
attack,  was  easily  put  down. 

The  expedition  of  Pavlutski  against  the  Chukchi  was 
a  little  better  than  useless:  instead  of  subduing  them  it 

347  Taking  into  consideration  the  fighting  qualities  of  the  Chukchi  and 
their  attitude  towards  the  Russians  before  and  after  this  campaign,  one  is  in- 
clined to  question  these  comparative  figures  as  given  by  Pavlutski. 


i64  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

merely  aroused  their  warring  spirit.  When  he  left  in 
the  fall  of  1732  for  Jakutsk  his  force  became  disorgan- 
ized and  lost  its  effectiveness.  This  gave  the  Chukchi 
their  opportunity,  and  they  waged  bitter  war  on  the 
Russians  and  their  allies.  The  situation  was  so  des- 
perate that  Pavlutski  was  obliged  to  come  back  in  1733, 
and  until  1739  he  kept  the  Chukchi  in  check.  In  that 
year  he  was  called  to  Jakutsk  to  become  woewod.  As 
soon  as  he  was  gone  the  Chukchi  carried  everything  be- 
fore them.  It  was  necessary  to  call  on  Pavlutski,  and 
he  made  his  third  appearance  in  1742.  He  fought 
three  battles  against  them:  in  two  he  was  successful, 
but  in  the  third  he  lost  his  life  (March  21).  For  many 
years  after  that  the  Chukchi  kept  his  head  as  a  trophy. 


VIII.     BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION 

VOYAGE  TO  AMERICA 

Soon  after  his  arrival  at  the  capital  Bering  submitted 
his  report  to  the  empress  and  the  Admiralty  College 
(with  whom  he  also  left  his  papers),  and  then  went  to 
Moscow  to  report  to  the  Senate.  The  account  of  his 
achievements  did  not  elicit  any  great  amount  of  praise. 
Many  called  his  mission  a  failure,  saying  that  at  the 
most  he  merely  determined  the  northern  limits  of  Kam- 
chatka. His  superiors,  at  least  a  number  of  them,  held 
a  similar  view.  His  reward  of  a  thousand  rubles,  the 
amount  usually  allowed  to  those  who  make  distant  voy- 
ages, was  not  voted  to  him  by  the  Senate  before  June, 
1732, 3iS  his  salary  remained  unpaid  for  two  years  after 
his  arrival,349  and  his  request  to  be  made  contre-admiral 
was  not  acted  upon.3S0  On  the  other  hand,  he  had  some 
influential  friends  who  stood  by  him  and  were  anxious 
to  have  him  lead  another  expedition.  Among  these 
were  Count  Osterman,  a  member  of  the  Imperial  Cab- 
inet, Kirilof,  chief  secretary  of  the  Senate,  and  Count 
Golovin  of  the  Admiralty  College.  In  addition  to 
these  men  Bering  had  the  general  good  will  of  a  num- 
ber of  young  and  enthusiastic  scientists  who  had  come 
to  Russia  at  the  invitation  of  Peter  the  Great  and  fa- 
vored the  idea  of  discovery  and  exploration.  It  is  per- 
haps worth  considering  whether  the  fault-finding  di- 

34S  Opisanie  del  Archiva  Morskavo  Ministerstva,  vol.  iii,  460. 

349  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix,  1851,  205,  209. 

350  —  Ibid. 


1 66  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

rected  against  Bering  may  not  have  been  due,  in  part, 
to  the  reactionary  feeling  against  foreigners  and  in- 
novations. 

Bering,  after  consulting  with  his  friends,  laid  before 
the  empress  two  sets  of  propositions.  The  first  dealt 
primarily  with  the  conversion  of  the  Jakuts,  the  devel- 
opment of  iron  mines  in  Siberia,  the  improvement  of 
the  militia,  the  introduction  of  cattle  into  Okhotsk  and 
Kamchatka,  and  other  good  and  worthy  recommenda- 
tions, which  can  not,  however,  be  taken  up  in  this  work. 

The  second  set  is  more  important,  since  it  discusses 
the  relation  between  Asia  and  America  and  is  as  fol- 
lows:351 

I.  According  to  my  observation  the  waves  of  eastern  Kam- 
chatka are  smaller  than  in  other  seas,  and  I  found  on  Karaginski 
Island  large  fir  trees  that  do  not  grow  on  Kamchatka.  These 
signs  indicate  that  America,  or  some  land  on  this  side  of  it,  is 
not  far  from  Kamchatka  —  perhaps  from  one  hundred  to  two 
hundred  fifty  miles.  This  could  easily  be  ascertained  by  build- 
ing a  boat  of  about  forty  or  fifty  tons  and  sending  it  to  investi- 
gate. If  this  be  so  [the  existence  of  such  a  country],  a  trade 
might  be  established  between  the  empire  and  the  inhabitants 
of  those  regions. 

II.  Such  a  boat  should  be  built  in  Kamchatka,  because  the 
necessary  timber  could  be  obtained  there  more  easily.  The  same 
holds  true  in  matters  of  food  —  fish  and  game  are  especially 
cheap  there.  Then  again  more  help  may  be  had  from  the  na- 
tives of  Kamchatka  than  those  of  Okhotsk.  One  other  reason 
should  not  be  overlooked :  the  mouth  of  the  Kamchatka  River  is 
deeper  and  offers  a  better  shelter  for  boats. 

III.  It  would  not  be  without  advantage  to  find  a  sea  route 
from  Kamchatka  or  Okhotsk  Rivers  to  the  Amur  River  or 
Japan,  since  it  is  known  that  these  regions  are  inhabited.  It 
would  be  very  profitable  to  open  trade  relations  with  these  people, 
particularly  the  Japanese.  And  as  we  have  no  boats  there 
[Okhotsk  Sea],  we  might  arrange  it  with  the  Japanese  that  they 

351  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix,  1851,  435-436. 


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O  °  C       3 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  169 

meet  us  half  way  in  their  boats.  For  such  an  expedition  a  ship 
about  the  size  of  the  one  mentioned  above  would  be  needed,  or 
one  somewhat  smaller  might  serve  the  same  purpose. 

IV.  The  cost  of  such  an  expedition  —  not  including  salaries, 
provisions,  and  materials  for  both  boats,  which  can  not  be  had 
there  and  would  have  to  be  taken  from  here  and  Siberia  —  would 
be  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  rubles. 

V.  If  it  should  be  considered  wise  to  map  the  northern  re- 
gions or  the  coast  of  Siberia  —  from  the  Ob  to  the  Yenisei  and 
from  there  to  the  Lena -this  could  be  done  by  boats  or  by  land, 
since  these  regions  are  under  Russian  jurisdiction. 

These  propositions  were  favorably  received  and 
adopted  after  certain  changes  had  been  suggested  by 
Chirikof,  such  as  that  the  boats  should  be  built  at  Ok- 
hotsk and  not  Kamchatka,  and  regarding  the  course  to 
be  sailed  after  leaving  Asia,  and  the  best  way  of  trans- 
porting provisions  across  the  continent,  et  cetera.352  In 
May,  1 73 1,  orders  were  issued  to  send  colonists  and 
artisans  to  the  Pacific  to  establish  a  port  at  Okhotsk,  the 
work  to  be  done  under  the  supervision  of  Pizaref.35; 
A  year  later  (May,  1732)  propositions  II  and  III, 
though  somewhat  changed -on  the  recommendation  of 
Chirikof- were  approved,  and  the  machinery  for  build- 
ing boats,  the  securing  the  necessary  materials,  and  the 
engaging  of  men,  was  set  in  motion.354  Bering's  weak 
and  half-hearted  suggestion  as  to  the  surveying  of 
northern  Siberia  was  greatly  enlarged  so  as  to  continue 
the  work  from  the  Lena  to  the  Anaduir  and  Kamchatka 
Rivers  in  order  to  determine  definitely  whether  Amer- 
ica and  Asia  were  united.355  Instructions  were  issued 
as  to  what  should  be  done  in  case  the  two  continents 


352  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix,  1851,  213-214. 

353  Polnoe   Sobranie   Zakonof  Rossiskoi  Imperii,    vol.   viii,    doc.    5753,    doc. 

58i3- 

354  —  Ibid.,  vol.  vii,  doc.  6041,  doc.  6042. 

355  —  Ibid.,  doc.  6291. 


170  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

were  not  separated  by  water.356  In  connection  with 
these  voyages,  admirable  scientific  researches  were 
planned  and  carried  on  throughout  Siberia  by  Gmelin, 
Muller,  Steller,  Krasheninnikof,  and  others,  whose  con- 
clusions are  accepted  even  today;  but  in  view  of  their 
purely  scientific  character,  they  cannot  be  discussed  in 
this  connection.  Taking  it  all  in  all,  it  was  one  of  the 
most  elaborate,  thorough  and  expensive  expeditions 
ever  sent  out  by  any  government  at  any  time. 

In  December,  1732,  the  Senate  gave  its  official  ap- 
proval to  the  work  undertaken  for  the  "benefit  of  her 
Imperial  Majesty  and  to  the  glory  of  the  Russian  Em- 
pire."357 This  body  also  recommended  that  an  astron- 
omer be  sent  along,  and  Louis  Delisle  de  la  Croyere 
was  appointed  to  the  position.  His  brother,  Joseph 
Nicholas  Delisle,  drew  up,  at  the  request  of  the  Senate, 
a  map  of  Kamchatka  and  the  neighboring  lands  Terra 
de  Jeso,  Company  Land,  Gama  Land,  also  the  Ameri- 
can coast,  pointing  out  especially  routes  where  new  dis- 
coveries could  probably  be  made.358  This  map  was  ac- 
companied by  a  memoir  discussing  the  bodies  of  land 
indicated  and  their  history.359  The  map  and  memoir 
were  given  to  Bering  to  aid  him  in  his  navigation;  in 
fact,  it  was  chiefly  at  his  request  that  the  Senate  asked 
Delisle  to  draw  them  up. 

The  instructions  of  December  28,  1732,  were  slightly 
revised  and  put  in  final  shape  by  the  Admiralty  College 
on  February  28,  1733,  and  confirmed  without  altera- 
tions by  the  Senate  on  March  16,  1733,  but  with  the 

356  Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  viii,  doc.  6291. 

357  —  Ibid. 

358  Xhis  map  was  based  on  Guillaume  Delisle's  map  of  America  of  1722. 

359  In  the  Appendix  may  be  found  the  memoir,  both  the  original  and  the 
translation. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  171 


addition  of  other  points.300  It  was  ordered  that  either 
at  Kamchatka  or  Okhotsk,  as  it  should  seem  best,  two 
boats  should  be  built  on  which  Bering  and  Chirikof 
should  sail  in  whatever  direction  they  and  Professor 
Delisle  de  la  Croyere  should  decide  that  America 
would  be  found.  According  to  the  Map  of  Delisle  the 
American  coast  runs  along  from  about  the  latitude  of 
Chukotski  Nos  to  about  the  forty-fifth  parallel,  the 
Spanish  province  of  Mexico.  When  they  should  have 
reached  America  they  were  to  be  guided  by  the  instruc- 
tions which  Czar  Peter  gave  to  Bering  in  1725.  The 
utmost  care  was  to  be  taken  not  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
unfriendly  people,  and  not  to  show  them  the  way  to  the 
Russian  possessions,  the  way  to  which  they  had  never 
heard.  In  case  Bering,  Chirikof,  Spanberg,  or  those 
who  were  to  explore  from  the  Lena  eastward  should 
meet  with  foreigners,  they  were  not  to  show  them  their 
instructions,  which  were  secret,  but  the  Admiralty  Col- 
lege would  prepare  others,  which  would  state  that  at  the 
request  of  the  St.  Petersburg  and  Paris  Academies  of 
Science  Peter  the  Great  had  undertaken  "out  of  curios- 
ity" to  determine  whether  America  and  Asia  were  unit- 
ed. As  the  last  expedition  had  not  fully  settled  that 
question,  the  present  empress  had  decided  to  continue 
the  investigation  until  that  point  was  definitely  ascer- 
tained.361 

In  view  of  the  importance  of  the  work  and  the  severe 
hardships  involved,  the  rank  of  the  officers  was  raised: 
Bering  was  made  captain-commander,  and  his  two  lieu- 
tenants, Spanberg  and  Chirikof,  were  each  given  the 
rank  of  captain-lieutenant.  For  the  same  reason  all 
those  connected  with  the  expedition  were  granted  double 

360  Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  viii,  doc.  6291. 
36i  —  Ibid. 


172  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

pay  during  their  services,  two  years'  pay  in  advance  to 
help  them  get  an  outfit,  and  were  promised  rewards  on 
their  return.362 

Instruments,  and  such  other  objects  as  could  not  be 
obtained  on  the  way,  were  taken  from  St.  Petersburg,363 
but  provisions  and  the  more  common  and  coarser  ma- 
terials were  to  be  gathered  on  the  way.  Orders  were 
forwarded  to  Siberian  officers  to  do  all  in  their  power 
to  speed  the  work.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  special  of- 
ficers were  commissioned  to  go  to  Jakutsk 

to  assist  the  officers  there  in  sending  out  the  supplies  so  that  by 
the  time  the  captain-commander  should  arrive  at  Okhotsk  all 
would  be  in  readiness.364 

Special  arrangements  were  also  provided  for  carrying 
letters  and  packages. 

In  February,  1733,  one  division  of  the  expedition 
left  St.  Petersburg.  Spanberg  with  a  number  of  me- 
chanics started  soon  afterwards,  aiming  to  reach  Ok- 
hotsk as  quickly  as  possible  to  work  on  the  boats  on 
which  he  was  to  go  to  Japan.  Chirikof  was  assigned 
the  care  of  the  baggage  train,  and  he  went  on  the  march 
not  long  after  Spanberg.  Bering  did  not  leave  until 
April.  From  Tobolsk  Chirikof  followed  the  old  trail 
by  way  of  the  rivers  Irtysh,  Ob,  Keta,  Yenisei,  Tungus, 
Ilima  to  Ilimsk,  and  down  the  Lena  to  Jakutsk,  arriving 
there  about  the  middle  of  the  summer  of  1735.  Bering, 
who  had  a  much  lighter  train,  had  reached  the  same 
place  in  October,   1734.     Spanberg  came  to  Okhotsk 

302  p0lnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  viii,  6291. 

363  Delisle  de  la  Croyere  took  with  him  one  quadrant,  two  clocks,  one 
equinoctial  sun  clock,  one  (?)  telescope,  four  telescopes  of  15,  13,  7,  and  5  feet, 
one  inclinometer,  one  declinometer,  five  astrolabes,  four  large  compasses, 
twenty  thermometers,  twenty-seven  barometers,  one  copper  sphere,  one  sur- 
veyor's chain,  one  magnet,  and  one  case  of  mathematical  instruments.  In 
addition  to  these  instruments  others  were  sent  after  him  to  Tobolsk. 

364  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix,  228-229. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  173 

early  in  the  year  1735,  expecting  that  Pizaref,  who  had 
been  ordered  in  1731  to  build  a  port,  would  have  quar- 
ters ready.  In  all  this  he  was  disappointed,  for  not 
only  had  Pizaref  done  nothing,  but  when  he  made  his 
appearance,  he  opposed  every  effort  of  the  others.  Mat- 
ters came  to  such  a  point  that  there  were  two  fortified 
camps  keenly  eyeing  each  other  and  occasionally  at- 
tacking. Charges  and  counter  charges  were  contin- 
ually being  sent  to  the  capital,  until  the  officers  were 
weary.  The  worst  part  of  this  affair  was  the  demoral- 
izing effect  on  the  men.365 

With  the  exception  of  Spanberg  and  his  small  com- 
pany, the  greater  part  of  the  force  was  still  at  Jakutsk 

365  This  man  Pizaref  had  an  interesting  history.  At  one  time  he  had  held 
a  very  prominent  position,  no  less  than  that  of  director  of  the  naval  academy 
at  Moscow  and  chief-procurator  of  the  Senate.  On  account  of  indiscreet 
speeches  against  Prince  Menshikof,  Peter  II,  on  May  27,  1727,  ordered  that 
Pizaref  should  be  whipped  and  exiled  to  Jakutsk.  In  May,  1731,  he  was  com- 
missioned to  go  to  Okhotsk  and  build  up  a  port  and  was  allowed  one  hun- 
dred fifty-three  men,  but  Pizaref  claimed  he  never  got  them.  About  a  year 
later  Pizaref  sent  to  Okhotsk  twenty- four  men,  of  whom  eight  died  on  the 
way,  and  the  remaining  sixteen  ran  away.  By  February,  1733,  Pizaref  de- 
cided to  start  for  Okhotsk,  but  before  he  could  get  supplies  from  the  woewod 
lie  had  to  put  that  officer  in  chains.  Nine  months  later  he  was  back  at  Jakutsk, 
and  when  Bering  arrived  he  found  him  there.  The  two  men  clashed  at  once, 
and  the  result  was  that  charges  and  complaints  were  being  forwarded  con- 
stantly. Finally  in  the  fall  of  1735  Pizaref  made  his  second  appearance  at 
Okhotsk  and  found  Spanberg,  whom  he  hated  even  worse  than  Bering.  In 
one  of  the  complaints  Pizaref  says  that  Spanberg  enticed  his  workmen,  stole 
his  supplies,  was  on  friendly  terms  with  the  exiled  princes  Dolgoruki  and 
Baratinski,  and  that  one  time  when  some  one  had  killed  a  bear,  Spanberg 
claimed  the  credit  of  the  deed  and  had  a  monument  erected  on  which  he  in- 
scribed the  event.  Spanberg  charged  Pizaref  with  drunkenness,  keeping  a 
harem,  and  cruelty  to  the  natives.  Pizaref  ran  away  from  Okhotsk  to  Jakutsk 
but  returned  with  Bering.  By  1739  he  had  built  two  wooden  huts  and  a 
church ;  before  he  could  do  any  more  he  was  removed  from  command,  and 
another  exile,  Anton  Devyer,  succeeded  him.  Devyer  arrived  at  Okhotsk 
probably  after  1740.  About  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  sell  at  auction 
Pizaref's  belongings  and  to  use  the  proceeds  in  paying  the  wages  of  the  work- 
men. In  December,  1741,  the  empress  pardoned  both  men,  and  they  returned 
to  St.  Petersburg,  where  their  former  rank  of  general  was  once  more  conferred 
on  them.     Devyer  received  other  honors  as  well. 


174         RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

in  1736,  where  nearly  all  of  the  supplies  were  gathered. 
How  to  get  them  to  Okhotsk  was  a  problem  even  more 
difficult  than  Bering  faced  on  his  first  expedition.  It 
was  finally  decided  to  send  the  heavier  materials,  such 
as  cannon  and  anchors,  by  way  of  the  Rivers  Aldan  and 
Udoma,  then  across  to  the  Urak  and  down  to  Okhotsk. 
The  lighter  objects  were  transported  by  land  over 
mountains,  torrents,  and  swamps.  Knowing  what  dif- 
ficulties were  experienced  some  years  before  in  getting 
the  stores  across  to  Okhotsk,  it  is  only  necessary  to  say 
that  those  of  the  second  attempt  were  even  greater,  be- 
cause everything  was  on  a  larger  scale,  without  a  pro- 
portionate increase  in  the  facilities  for  transportation. 
In  favoring  the  expedition  the  authorities  at  St.  Peters- 
burg believed  that  it  could  be  accomplished  in  six 
years;  consequently  when  four  years  had  gone  by  and 
the  leader  was  no  farther  than  Jakutsk,  murmurs  of  dis- 
satisfaction arose.  Gentle  hints  to  Bering  to  hurry 
were  at  last  followed  by  threats.  The  Admiralty  Col- 
lege told  him  that  unless  more  progress  was  shown,  his 
rank  would  be  reduced;  his  pay  was  actually  cut  in  two 
from  the  beginning  of  1738  to  July,  1740,  "because  of 
failure  to  send  necessary  information  and  delay  in  ac- 
complishing the  work  assigned."366  Bering  defended 
himself  by  accusing  the  Siberian  authorities  of  not  do- 
ing what  they  should.  They  replied  by  charging  him 
with  selling  liquor,  making  underhanded  bargains,  and 
other  illegal  acts.  Spanberg  had  no  love  for  Chirikof, 
but  he  united  with  him  in  filing  complaints  against 
their  chief;367  and  the  scientists,  Muller,  Gmelin,  and 
Delisle  de  la  Croyere,  had  almost  at  the  very  beginning 
indicated  their  desire  to  be  relieved  from  the  authority 

366  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenla,  vol.  ix,  254, 

367  Opisanie  del  Archiva  Morskavo  Ministerstva,  vol.  v,  85. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  177 

of  their  leader.368  Just  what  proportion  of  truth  and 
falsehood  these  charges  contain,  it  is  not  easy  to  de- 
termine. 

It  is  but  just  to  Bering  to  say  that  the  work  before 
him  was  exceedingly  difficult  and,  as  he  so  often  com- 
plained, it  was  more  than  he  could  do  and  that  a  young- 
er man  should  have  been  assigned  to  the  task.389  At  the 
end  of  1736,  when  he  left  Jakutsk,  he  had  from  five 
hundred  to  a  thousand  men  for  transporting  his  sup- 
plies. To  feed  this  small  army  was  in  itself  a  serious 
problem  without  being  obliged  to  store  up  provisions 
for  the  future.  Although  the  officials  at  the  capital 
spoke  so  sharply  to  him,  they  nevertheless  realized  that 
he  was  not  the  only  one  to  blame.  Urgent  requests  and 
orders  were  being  sent  to  the  woewods  and  others  in 
Siberia  driving  them  to  more  zealous  efforts  in  behalf 
of  the  expedition,  some  of  the  letters  even  threatening 
torture  if  more  prompt  obedience  was  not  forthcom- 
ing. It  has  already  been  pointed  out  what  a  broken 
reed  Pizaref  proved  to  be  when  so  much  was  expected 
from  him.  There  may  have  been  others  no  better  than 
he  but  less  well  known. 

Towards  the  end  of  1737  the  Admiralty  College,  in 
order  to  advance  matters,  submitted  a  report  to  the 
Imperial  Cabinet  suggesting  the  appointment  of  two 
special  officers  to  be  sent  to  Siberia  with  full  power  to 
demand  from  the  authorities  there  such  aid  and  re- 
sources as  the  expedition  needed.  On  the  strength  of 
this  recommendation  Tolbuchin  and  Larinof  were  com- 
missioned, and  they  left  the  capital  in  1739.  But  the 
stream  of  letters  and  threats  to  the  captain-commander 
continued  as  before.     It  was  about  this  time  that  the 

368  Opisanie  del  Archiva  Morskavo  Ministerstva,  vol.  iv,  91. 

369  Steller,  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrdge,  vol.  v,  141. 


1 78         RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


Senate  demanded  an  investigation  to  determine  the 
cause  of  the  delay.  The  Imperial  Cabinet,  after  con- 
sidering the  cost  of  the  expedition,  which  had  reached 
at  that  time  (1738)  three  hundred  thousand  rubles,  and 
in  view  of  the  burden  it  threw  on  the  Siberian  people, 
asked  the  Admiralty  College  whether  it  would  not  be 
wise  "to  look  into  the  Kamchatka  expedition  to  see  if  it 
can  be  brought  to  a  head,  so  that  from  now  on  the  treas- 
ury should  not  be  emptied  in  vain."370 

With  the  coming  of  Tolbuchin  and  Larinof  affairs 
assumed  a  more  prosperous  appearance.  More  men 
were  put  on,  a  larger  force  of  horses  were  drafted 
into  the  service,  an  additional  number  of  boats  were 
launched,  and  roads  were  repaired,  so  that  by  October, 
1740,  nearly  all  the  necessary  supplies  had  found  their 
way  to  Okhotsk.  Relieved  of  this  responsibility,  Ber- 
ing (who  had  reached  Okhotsk  in  1737)  and  his  men 
concentrated  all  their  energies  on  the  building  of 
boats,371  with  the  result  that  by  June,  1740,  two  ships 
were  launched.  Each  measured  eighty  by  twenty  by 
nine  feet,  brig  rigged,  two  masts,  and  bearing  fourteen 
cannon,  two  and  three  pounders.  On  September  4,  the 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  the  new  boats,  accompanied  by 
two  others  carrying  provisions,  left  Okhotsk.372  Delisle 
de  la  Croyere  and  Steller  followed  four  days  later  in  a 
boat  which  was  set  aside  especially  to  carry  them  and 
their  baggage  and  supplies  to  Kamchatka.373  Bolshaya 
River  was  reached  October  20  and  there  Bering  left  his 
freight  boats  because  he  did  not  think  they  were  strong 

370  Zapiski  Hydrografiicheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix,  255;   Opisanie  Del 
Archiva  Morskavo  Ministerstva,  vol.  vii,  273. 

371  According  to   the  original  plan  Pizaref  was  to  have  had  them  about 
ready  by  the  time  of  Bering's  arrival. 

372  Muller,  Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,  vol.  Hi,  187. 

373  _  itid. 


Harbor  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  in  1741 
[Journal  of  the  St.  Peter] 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  181 


enough  to  round  southern  Kamchatka,  but  the  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul  went  on  and  dropped  anchor  in  Avatcha 
Bay  on  the  sixth  day  of  October.374  The  two  scientists 
remained  in  western  Kamchatka  intending  to  do  some 
research  work  in  the  course  of  the  winter. 

Avatcha  Bay  was  one  of  the  new  sea-ports  on  the 
Pacific.  Bering  in  1739,  sent  one  of  his  officers  who 
sounded  and  ch.;-  ted  the  harbor  and  put  up  a  few  build- 
ings. A  church  was  erected  and  dedicated  to  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul,375  and  coupled  with  the  fact  that  the  two 
boats  were  named  in  honor  of  the  saints,  the  village  took 
the  name  of  Petropavlovsk.  An  uneventful  winter  was 
passed  here  in  making  final  arrangements  for  the  voy- 
age of  the  coming  summer.  In  the  spring  Delisle  de 
la  Croyere  and  Steller376  reported  to  Bering  for  duty. 
It  is  to  Steller  that  we  are  indebted  for  a  full  account 
of  the  voyage,  the  only  one  as  yet  published. 

Taking  into  consideration  the  short  summer  and  the 
long  distance  to  go,  Bering  had  originally  planned  to 
leave  Kamchatka  early  in  May  and  after  discovering 
America  to  spend  the  winter  there  and  return  to  Asia 
the  following  year.377  If  this  could  have  been  done  it 
would  have  been  most  fortunate  for  all  concerned  as  it 
would  have  saved  them  from  a  great  deal  of  suffering. 
His  well-laid  plans  failed,  however,  and  from  no  fault 
of  Bering.  At  Okhotsk  he  had  prepared  the  sea-biscuit 
for  the  voyage  which  he  shipped  to  Kamchatka  in  1740, 

374  Muller,  Sammlung  Russisc/ier  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,  187. 

375  —  Ibid.,  191. 

376  Georg  Wilhelm  Steller  was  born  in  Franconia  in  1709,  and  had  studied 
at  different  universities  both  the  natural  sciences  and  philosophy.  After  wan- 
dering from  place  to  place  he  finally  reached  St.  Petersburg,  and  in  1738  was 
sent  to  Siberia  to  do  scientific  work.  His  original  plan  was  to  go  with  Span- 
berg  to  Japan,  but  Bering  persuaded  him  to  embark  with  him. 

377  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrdge,  vol.  v,  141. 


l82 


RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


but  these  were  lost  at  the  mouth  of  the  Okhotsk  River.378 
In  the  second  place,  his  freight  boats  were  unfit  to 
carry  his  supplies  all  the  way  to  Avatcha  and  this  made 
it  necessary  to  transport  the  greater  part  of  the  cargo 
overland  during  the  winter.  The  natives,  on  whom 
the  larger  part  of  this  work  fell,  revolted  at  the  very 
beginning  and  it  took  much  energy  and  time  to  put 
them  down.379  The  result  of  all  this  was  that  Bering 
was  not  only  late  in  starting,  but  he  was  also  not  too  well 
prepared  for  wintering  in  America  had  he  desired  to 
do  so. 

Towards  the  end  of  May  all  was  in  readiness  for  the 
start,  the  boats  were  loaded380  and  manned,  and  the  only 
thing  needed  was  a  fair  breeze.  On  the  St.  Peter  were 
the  Captain-commander  Bering,  Second-in-command 
Waxel,  Shipmaster  Chytref,  Mate  Kasselberg,  Second 
mate  Juschin,  Surgeon  Steller.     In  addition  there  were 

378  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nbrdische  Beytrage,  vol.  v,  141. 

*™  —  Ibid. 

a80  Cargo  of  the  St.  Peter  taken  from  the  Journal,  33 


Balast  -  ships  gear,  etc. 

Groats  (2  kinds) 

Beef  (in  barrels) 

Butter  " 

Pork      " 

Salt       . 

Flour     . 

Water  (102  barrels  of  various  sizes) 

Wood   . 

Crackers 

Powder   (in  barrels) 

Cannon  balls   . 

Ammunition 

Cannons  (3  pounders  — 9  pieces) 

Cannons  (2  pounders -5  pieces) 

Falconets  (3  pieces)    . 

Iron      .... 


Pood 

Pounc 

800 

217 

10 

165 

80 

70 

18 

250 

1434 

990 

382 

34 

17^ 

57 

37 

25 

30 

184 

20 

92 

20 

10 

20 

90 

[Total 


4901 


34M] 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  183 

a  number  of  officers  of  lower  rank,  soldiers,  sailors,  and 
servants.  Chirikof  commanded  on  the  St.  Paul,  being 
assisted  by  two  lieutenants,  Chegachef  and  Plautin,  the 
Astronomer  Delisle  de  la  Croyere,  and  several  petty 
officers.  Including  every  man  on  board  each  ship  had 
seventy-six  persons. 380a 

On  May  4  Bering  summoned  his  officers,  including 
Delisle  de  la  Croyere,  for  consultation.  He  read  his 
instructions  to  them,  showed  them  Delisle's  chart  and 
asked  their  advice  as  to  the  course  that  ought  to  be  fol- 
lowed. They  were  all,  including  the  leader,  of  the 
opinion  that  by  sailing  between  east  and  south  to  about 
the  forty-sixth  or  forty-fifth  parallels  the  Company 
Land  of  the  Dutch  would  be  met  with,  and  not  far  from 
there  they  would  come  to  Gama  Land  and  later  to  the 
western  coast  of  America.  In  case  the  looked  for  land 
was  not  found  the  course  should  be  changed  to  east  by 
north,  keeping  between  the  parallels  forty-five-the 
most  northerly  point  of  known  America -and  sixty- five, 
where  Gwosdef  saw  land.  When  America  was  located, 
the  boats  were  to  follow  the  coast  in  a  northerly  direc- 
tion until  they  were  between  the  parallels  sixty-four 
and  sixty-six -the  situation  of  the  most  northeasterly 
point  of  Asia -and  then  sail  due  west  and  thus  deter- 
mine the  relation  between  Asia  and  America.  When 
that  was  done  they  should  return  to  Kamchatka.  If, 
however,  on  account  of  lack  of  provisions,  the  weather, 
or  some  other  cause,  it  was  not  possible  to  carry  out 
fully  all  these  plans,  it  might  be  advisable  to  take  up 
the  work  the  following  year  and  carry  it  to  comple- 
tion.381 The  time  for  returning  was  set  for  Septem- 
ber.382 


380a  Journal  of  the  St.  Peter,  33. 

381  —  Ibid.,  24,  25 ;  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrdge,  vol.  v,  140. 

382  Since  the  time  of  Muller  it  has  been  the  fashion  to  ridicule  the  Delisles 


184         RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

On  May  25,  Bering  inspected  the  men  on  the  two 
boats,  after  that  he  took  up  his  permanent  quarters  on 
the  St.  Peter.  Later  in  the  day  he  gave  Chirikof  a  code 
of  signals  by  means  of  which  they  were  to  communicate 
on  the  voyage.  About  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  of 
June  4,  the  much-prayed-for  fair  wind  began  to  blow, 
taking  the  boats  out  of  Avatcha  and  following  them  for 
several  days  making  it  possible  to  sail  on  east-southeast 
and  southeast  by  east  courses  until  June  11,  when  the 
boats  found  themselves  in  north  latitude  forty-six  de- 
grees, forty-seven  minutes,  and  one  hundred  fifty-five 
Dutch  miles  from  Avatcha.  On  the  following  day  the 
position  of  the  boats  was  ascertained  at  forty-six  degrees, 
nine  minutes;  but  still  no  land  was  in  sight,  although, 
judging  from  the  seagrasses  and  animal  life  about  them, 
some  argued  that  land  must  be  near  at  hand.383  The 
officers  decided  not  to  waste  any  more  time  in  looking 
for  it  in  this  direction.  Aboijt  four  o'clock  (ship's 
time)  of  the  afternoon  of  June  13  it  was  signalled  to 
Chirikof  that  "according  to  the  opinion  of  the  captain- 
commander  and  his  officers,  also  Professor  de  la  Croy- 
ere,  it  was  time  to  change  the  course  to  east  by  north." 
To  this  proposal  Chirikof  assented,  and  the  course  de- 
cided on  was  taken  and  kept  until  the  fourteenth,  when  a 
strong  wind  compelled  the  boats  to  tack.  The  next  day 
the  breeze  shifted  to  the  south,  so  that  a   northeast 

and  in  particular  the  author  of  this  chart.  Bancroft  (p.  66)  makes  light  of 
him,  and  Lauridsen  (p.  53)  in  particular  ridicules  him.  There  is  really  no 
justification  for  all  this  raillery.  J.  N.  Delisle  drew  up  this  chart  at  the  re- 
quest of  Bering  [Delisle  Manuscripts,  no.  xxvi,  3,  B]  and  it  was  based  on  his 
brother  Guillaume's  map  of  1722.  Like  all  other  maps  of  the  period  it  had 
Jeso,  Gama  Land,  Company  Land,  etc.  Neither  the  Senate  nor  Delisle  urged 
that  a  search  be  made  for  them.  There  is  nothing  dogmatic  about  Delisle. 
When  he  is  ignorant  on  a  certain  point  he  very  frankly  says  so.  One  has  but 
to  become  acquainted  with  the  cartography  of  the  period  and  to  read  the 
Delisle  memoir  to  learn  that  Delisle  was  an  earnest  and  capable  scholar. 
383  Steller,  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrdge,  vol.  v,  144. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  185 

course  could  be  sailed  almost  continuously  until  the 
eighteenth,  the  vessels  being  then  in  latitude  forty-nine 
degrees,  thirty  minutes,  and  eighteen  degrees,  thirty 
minutes  from  Avatcha.  At  this  point  the  wind  fresh- 
ened and  shifted  once  more  to  the  east,  forcing  a  south- 
erly course.  On  the  morning  of  the  twentieth,  Chiri- 
kof  saw  Bering  to  the  north  of  him,  about  ten  miles 
distant,3S4  but  Bering  did  not  see  Chirikof ;  and  in  try- 
ing to  come  together,  the  two  drifted  farther  and  far- 
ther apart,  never  again  to  meet. 

Chirikof  remained  in  this  neighborhood  (between 
the  forty-eighth  and  forty-ninth  parallels  where  the  St. 
Peter  was  last  seen)  until  the  twenty-third;  "at  the  fifth 
hour  after  midnight,"  says  Chirikof's  Journal,  "we  gave 
up  looking  for  the  St.  Peter  and  according  to  the  gen- 
eral agreement  of  the  officers,  the  St.  Paul  took  up  her 
course."  The  wind  was,  on  the  whole,  fair,  but  the 
sky  was  overcast.  Nearly  the  whole  time  the  course 
steered  was  east-northeast  half  east.  By  July  11,  signs 
of  land  appeared  in  the  shape  of  drift  wood,  wild  ducks, 
and  other  sea  fowl  that  do  not  fly  far  from  shore.  No 
sails  were  shortened,  but  the  lead  was  heaved  constantly 
during  the  night.  About  two  o'clock  in  the  morning 
of  the  fifteenth,  in  about  latitude  fifty-five  degrees, 
twenty-one  minutes,  and  sixty-one  degrees,  fifty-five 
minutes  from  Avatcha,  land  was  sighted.  The  next 
day,  July  16,  in  latitude  fifty-six  degrees,  fifteen  min- 
utes, longitude  sixty  degrees,  fifty-seven  minutes,  two 
seconds,  Boatswain  Mama  and  eight  sailors  were  or- 
dered ashore  to  examine  a  bay,  and  on  their  return  re- 
ported that  it  was  not  sheltered  from  the  north  wind. 
During  July  17  an  observation  was  made,  showing  the 

384  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix,  379;  Chirikof's  Jour- 
nal, 43-44. 


186         RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

St.  Paul  to  be  in  latitude  fifty-seven  degrees,  thirty- 
nine  minutes  and  longitude  fifty-eight  degrees,  fifty- 
four  minutes,  two  seconds.  By  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  boat  had  advanced  to 
fifty-seven  degrees,  fifty  minutes  and  anchored  in  front 
of  a  bay. 

Dementief,  the  pilot,  and  a  crew  of  ten  men,  armed 
with  guns  and  a  small  cannon,  were  sent  ashore  in  the 
largest  boat.  Those  on  board  waited  for  their  return 
until  the  twenty-third  on  which  day  fire  and  smoke  were 
seen  on  shore,  and  concluding  that  some  accident  must 
have  happened  to  the  party,  sent  the  remaining  boat  in 
charge  of  Boatswain  Sevelyef,  accompanied  by  one  car- 
penter, one  calker  and  one  sailor.  Sevelyef  had  orders 
that  as  soon  as  he  landed  to  give  a  sign,  also  to  signal  by 
making  fires  the  condition  of  the  boat  and  the  men 
ashore.  Without  losing  any  time  he  was  to  leave  the 
ship's  carpenter  on  shore  and  with  Dementief  and  his 
men  return  to  the  St.  Paul.  At  the  same  time  the  ship 
went  quite  close  to  shore  where  a  strong  surf  was  run- 
ning and  the  St.  Paul  herself  was  in  some  danger.  Al- 
though eagerly  watched  for  no  signals  were  seen  or 
heard.  So  close  did  the  St.  Paul  approach  that  those  on 
deck  could  see  the  surf  dash  over  the  rocks  on  the 
beach.  The  weather  was  calm.  If  a  gun  had  been  dis- 
charged, Chirikof  says,  it  could  have  been  heard  on  the 
boat.  Fire  was  noticed  in  the  bay.  Nearly  every  hour 
during  the  night  cannon  were  fired.  Neither  of  these 
two  boats  was  ever  seen  again.  On  the  twenty- 
fourth  two  canoes,  one  larger  than  the  other,  filled  with 
natives  came  out  of  the  bay  and  approached  the  St. 
Paul,  but  not  near  enough  to  make  themselves  under- 
stood.385 

385  wrhat  became   of  these  men?     The   impression   that  seems  to   prevail 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  187 

As  there  were  no  other  boats  it  was  quite  impossible 
to  visit  the  shore  for  the  purpose  of  getting  fresh  water 
of  which  there  was  need,  and  therefore  the  officers  de- 
cided to  go  back  to  Kamchatka  as  quickly  as  possible. 
This  conclusion  was  reached  on  the  twenty-sixth.  From 
this  day  forth  the  men  were  put  on  an  allowance  of 
water.  The  wind  was  constantly  shifting  and  prevent- 
ing much  progress. 

About  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  September  9, 
the  St.  Paul  anchored  in  a  bay  in  one  of  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  latitude  fifty-one  degrees,  twelve  minutes,  lon- 
gitude eleven  degrees,  fifty-four  minutes,  six  seconds, 
near  enough  to  the  shore  so  that  the  mountains,  grass 
and  the  people  were  visible.  Those  on  board  began  call- 
ing to  the  islanders  to  come  to  them.  When  they  had 
shouted  to  each  other  for  an  hour,  neither  party  under- 
standing the  other,  seven  natives  were  seen  coming 
towards  the  ship.  Each  man  was  seated  in  a  boat  about 
fifteen  feet  long,  three  feet  wide,  the  prow  very  pointed, 

that  they  were  set  upon  by  the  natives  and  killed  is  hardly  satisfactory.  The 
inhabitants  of  this  region  had  never  before  seen  a  white  man,  and  they  would 
be  more  likely  to  run  away  than  attack.  Then  again  ten  armed  men  were 
in  a  position  to  make  some  defense.  Those  on  board  should  have  heard  the 
discharge  of  a  musket,  being,  as  they  were,  near  the  shore.  If  they  were  not 
murdered,  what  did  become  of  them?  In  1786,  Laperouse,  while  cruising  in 
these  waters,  noticed  in  about  latitude  580  an  opening  indicating  an  entrance 
to  a  bay.  Approaching  nearer,  he  found  the  opening  narrow  and  the  tide 
running  very  strong,  and  it  was  only  with  great  difficulty  that  access  was 
gained.  When  about  ready  to  leave,  after  a  two  weeks'  stay,  Laperouse 
ordered  three  of  his  small  boats  to  sound  and  chart  the  bay,  cautioning  them 
not  to  go  close  to  the  mouth  until  the  ebb  set  in.  Two  of  the  boats,  disobeying 
orders,  ventured  nearer  than  they  should  have  done,  and  were  drawn  into  the 
current  and  lost. 

It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  it  was  in  front  of  this  bay  that  Chirikof 
hove  to,  and  that  it  was  into  this  bay  that  the  boats  went.  That  there  is  a 
slight  difference  in  reckoning  may  be  easily  accounted  for  by  the  cruder  in- 
struments of  the  Russian.  It  seems  very  probable  that  the  Russian  sailors  lost 
their  lives  by  being  caught  in  the  strong  current  of  Latuya  Bay  (of  La- 
perouse's  misfortune)  either  in  going  in  or  coming  out.  Even  today  Latuya 
Bay  may  be  entered  only  when  the  tide  is  favorable. 


1 88  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

but  the  stern  and  deck  somewhat  rounded,  and  the  whole 
covered  with  hair  seal  skins  with  the  exception  of  a 
hole  in  the  center  for  the  boatman.  He  was  dressed  in 
a  garment  with  a  hood,  the  whole  being  made  of  the  in- 
testines of  sea  animals.  These  men  made  use  of  a 
double  paddle  and  moved  over  the  water  very  swiftly 
and  fearlessly.  When  they  had  come  near  the  boat 
they  stopped  and  began  to  shout,  first  on  one  side  and 
then  on  the  other  as  if  imploring  the  gods  to  keep  them 
from  harm.  After  they  had  kept  this  up  for  seven  or 
eight  minutes  they  quieted  down  and  conversed  with 
each  other  in  a  natural  tone  of  voice.  Those  on  board 
(the  greater  part  of  the  men  were  below  decks  so  as  not 
to  frighten  the  natives)  saluted  the  islanders  in  their 
most  gracious  and  kindliest  manner,  and  with  gestures, 
Chinese  cups,  pieces  of  satin,  beads,  bells,  needles,  Chi- 
nese tobacco  and  pipes  invited  and  tempted  them  to 
come  nearer,  but  in  vain.  Knives  were  the  only  ob- 
jects that  appealed  to  them  and  for  these  they  scrambled 
and  fought  and  to  obtain  them  several  boatmen  went 
ashore  to  bring  fresh  water  in  skin  bladders.  Chirikof 
describes  them  as  men  of  large  stature  and  good  health, 
in  their  features  resembling  the  Tartars  but  somewhat 
paler.  In  their  noses  they  wore  stone  or  ivory  orna- 
ments which  caused  the  blood  to  flow.  Although  these 
men  would  not  come  on  board  they  gave  Chirikof  roots, 
which  they  used  for  food,  arrows,  and  other  objects. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  a  strong  wind  began  to  blow, 
forcing  the  St.  Paul  to  stand  out  to  sea,  but  this  was  ac- 
complished with  difficulty  and  the  loss  of  an  anchor.355' 
There  was  so  little  drinking  water  that  an  attempt 
was  made  to  obtain  it  by  distilling  salt  water,  but  the 
operation  was  not  altogether  a  success  for  the  distilled 

386  Delisle  Manuscripts.     See  "Appendix."     Chirikof's  Journal,  53-55. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  189 

water  retained  a  bitterness.  To  offset  this  unpleasant 
taste  the  water  was  diluted  with  an  equal  quantity  of  the 
remaining  fresh  water.  Arrangements  were  made  at 
the  very  beginning  for  catching  all  the  rain  possible. 3S1 
The  scarcity  of  water,  lack  of  properly  cooked  food,  suf- 
ferings from  storms  and  exposures  broke  the  health  of 
nearly  all  the  men,  and  several  of  them  died  as  a  result, 
among  them  being  the  two  lieutenants.388  Chirikof  was 
not  able  to  come  on  deck  after  the  twenty-first  and  was 
obliged  to  give  his  orders  from  the  cabin.  Those  who 
were  able  to  keep  their  feet  were  so  weak  that  they 
could  only  with  difficulty  handle  the  vessel,  the  sails 
and  rigging  of  which  were  rotting  and  giving  way.  To 
their  joy  Avatcha  was  sighted  on  October  8 ;  anchorage, 
however,  was  not  made  until  the  morning  of  the  tenth. 
Five  cannon  shot  brought  a  few  small  boats  alongside 
and  on  these  the  sick  were  carefully  taken  ashore.  Louis 
Delisle  de  la  Croyere  died  before  he  could  be  landed.389 
Altogether  twenty-one  men  lost  their  lives  on  this  voy- 
age.390 

During  the  winter  Chirikof  recovered  sufficiently  to 
be  able  to  go  to  sea  the  following  May.  He  sailed  east- 
wardly  intending  to  reach  the  American  coast  and  if 
possible  to  find  Bering.  He  passed  close  by  Bering 
Island  and  came  to  Attu  and  Atka,  but  on  account  of 
unfavorable  weather  he  had  to  turn  back  to  Avatcha 
and  from  there  he  went  to  Okhotsk  and  eventually  to 
St.  Petersburg  where  he  was  promoted,  but  he  lived 
only  a  short  time  after  that. 

387  Chirikof's  Journal,  50. 

388  —  Ibid,  57. 

389  Nicolai,  a  son  of  Delisle  by  a  Kamchatka  woman,  survived  him.  Cap- 
tain Clerk,  Cook's  successor,  when  in  Kamchatka,  erected  a  tablet  to  Delisle. 
Soon  after  that  Clerk  himself  was  buried  here;  and  when  Laperouse  visited 
Avatcha  he  put  up  a  monument  to  the  Englishman. 

390  Mullen     Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,  240-241. 


igo         RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Owing  to  the  strong  wind  the  St.  Peter  kept  under 
little  sail  the  day  the  St.  Paul  disappeared.  When  the 
wind  died  down  somewhat,  Bering  decided  to  go  back 
to  the  locality  where  Chirikof  was  last  seen,  and  in  this 
neighborhood  he  remained  until  the  twenty-second.  A 
ship's  council  then  advised  the  retracing  of  the  course 
from  the  fiftieth  to  the  forty-sixth  parallel,  with  the 
hope  of  running  across  either  Chirikof  or  Company 
Land.391 

On  the  twenty-fifth,  the  St.  Peter  found  herself  in 
latitude  forty-five  degrees,  sixteen  minutes,  without 
having  found  either  object  of  the  search.  Orders  were 
given  to  put  about,  and  for  three  days  an  east  by  north 
course  was  kept  and  then  changed  to  east-northeast,  in 
order  to  sail  exactly  east  by  north  from  the  forty-sixth 
and  not  from  the  forty-fifth  parallel,  as  previously  had 
been  done.392  For  several  days  there  was  fair  wind 
and  cloud  covered  skies  and  fog.  From  July  7  to  9,  an 
east  wind  blew,  and  with  this  the  ship  sailed  due  north 
to  fifty-one  degrees,  thirty  minutes.  The  wind  veering, 
the  course  was  shifted  to  northeast  by  east.  Beginning 
with  July  12,  a  lookout  was  kept  for  land.  At  night 
the  boat  either  drifted  or  moved  under  little  canvas. 
As  they  continued  sailing  day  after  day  with  no  land  in 
sight  those  on  board  began  to  blame  themselves  for  sup- 
posing that  Asia  and  America  were  near  each  other. 
The  disappointment  in  not  finding  the  object  of  their 
search  showed  itself  in  the  restlessness  and  antagonism 
which  developed  among  the  men.  At  a  meeting  (July 
14)  the  officers  agreed  to  keep  more  to  the  north  by 
steering  a  north-northeast  course  until  the  twentieth, 

391  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrage,  vol.  v,  146.  Gama  Land 
was  located  on  the  chart  between  the  forty-fifth  and  forty-seventh  degrees. 

392  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix,  381. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  191 

and  if  by  that  time  no  land  was  sighted  the  attempt 
should  be  given  up  and  the  return  home  entered  upon 
because  drinking  water  was  running  very  low.393  When 
the  St.  Peter  had  crossed  the  fifty-second  parallel  there 
appeared  many  signs  of  land.  Near  the  ship  were 
large  quantities  of  seaweeds  and  kelps,  such  as  the  Quer- 
cus  marina,  Algam  dentatam  Raji,  Fucos  membrana- 
ceous calyciformes,  and  others,  some  of  which  grow 
only  on  rocks  in  two  or  three  feet  of  water,  and  at  least 
one  of  these  (Fucum  clavae  effigie)  is  not  to  be  found  in 
Kamchatka.  In  addition  to  these  signs  there  were 
other  indications  in  the  shape  of  sea  birds  and  marine 
animals,  such  as  the  sea  otter  that  can  not  live  in  very 
deep  water  and  must  therefore  keep  close  to  shore.  But 
all  this  evidence  was  not  of  sufficient  weight  with  the 
officers  to  cause  them  to  change  their  course  and  sail  a 
little  more  to  the  north  as  suggested  by  Steller.394  This 
scientist  claims  that  on  Wednesday,  July  15,  he  caught 
a  glimpse  of  land  in  the  direction  towards  which  the 
boat  was  heading,  but  as  it  did  not  stand  out  very  clearly 
he  was  not  believed.  On  the  following  day  a  chain  of 
high,  rugged  and  snow-covered  mountains  loomed  in 
view  in  latitude  fifty-eight  degrees,  twenty-eight  min- 
utes.395 Those  on  board  were  of  the  opinion  that  these 
mountains  were  higher  than  any  they  had  seen  in  Si- 
beria and  Kamchatka.  The  coast  seemed  to  be  broken 
up  with  numerous  bays  and  harbors. 

At  the  sight  of  land  all  became  excited:  some  ad- 
vised looking  for  a  harbor  on  the  mainland  at  once, 

393  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrdge,  vol.  v,  153.  In  the  Journal 
of  the  St.  Peter  nothing  is  said  about  turning  back  on  the  twentieth. 

394  — Ibid.,  148-149. 

395  Muller.  Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,  198.  The  Journal 
of  the  St.  Peter  says  that  land  was  first  seen  from  the  boat  in  a  northwestern 
direction  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  sixteenth  (boat's  reckoning  the 
seventeenth). 


192  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

others  argued  against  such  a  step.  But  it  was  the  wind, 
the  tide,  and  the  lay  of  the  land  rather  than  any  con- 
certed plan  that  determined  their  movements  during 
the  following  days.  With  the  aid  of  fair  wind  the 
boat  approached  quite  close  to  the  shore  on  the  seven- 
teenth. Towards  the  evening  of  the  next  day  the  land 
was  so  near  that  those  on  board  were  delighted  with 
the  view  of  the  beautiful  forests  and  of  the  seemingly 
level  and  sandy  beach.396  From  Saturday  night,  the 
eighteenth,  until  Monday  the  twentieth,  the  St.  Peter 
beat  up  and  down  in  a  northwesterly  direction,  leaving 
the  mainland  on  the  right,  in  order  to  get  under  the 
shelter  of  an  island.  By  doing  so  she  ran  into  a  group 
of  islands  among  which  an  anchorage  was  finally 
found.397 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  land  Bering  was  suf- 
fering from  scurvy  and  seemed  to  have  been  worn  out 
by  his  fifteen  years  of  hardships  and  abuse.  He  had 
no  enthusiasm  or  joy  in  life,  and  his  depressing  spirit 
dampened  what  little  ardor  his  men  possessed.  At  the 
sight  of  the  new  continent  the  men  were  full  of  glad- 
ness and  showered  on  him  congratulations,  but  he  re- 
ceived all  their  felicitations  coldly  and  indifferently 
and  with  shrugging  shoulders.  Later,  in  the  cabin,  in 
the  presence  of  two  of  the  men,  he  expressed  himself 
somewhat  in  the, following  manner: 

We  think  we  have  now  discovered  everything,  but  we  do  not 

396  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrdge,  vol.  v,  155. 

397  Monday,  July  20,  was  St.  Elias  day,  and  in  honor  of  the  saint  several 
of  the  officers  insisted  on  naming  one  of  the  islands  Cape  Elias,  much  to  the 
disgust  of  Steller,  who  argued  with  them  that  an  island  could  not  be  called 
a  cape.  What  the  officers  did,  and  probably  all  they  desired  to  do,  was  to  name 
the  island  St.  Elias.  According  to  their  inaccurate  observation  the  island  is 
in  latitude  fifty-nine  degrees,  forty  minutes  and  east  of  Avatcha  forty-eight  de- 
grees, fifty  minutes.  [Waxel's  report  to  the  Admiralty  College.  Admiralty 
papers,  doc.  2,  1742,  p.  224.] 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  193 

stop  to  think  where  we  are,  how  far  we  are  still  from  home,  and 
what  may  yet  happen.  Who  knows  but  perhaps  contrary  winds 
will  come  up  and  prevent  us  from  returning.  We  do  not  know 
this  country  nor  have  we  provisions  enough  for  wintering 
here.398 

Now  that  land  was  discovered,  Bering  and  his  of- 
ficers, before  deciding  what  their  movements  were  to 
be  in  the  near  future,  whether  to  remain  two  days  or 
two  months,  whether  to  explore  or  not,  went  about  pro- 
viding for  the  needs  of  the  immediate  present,  which 
was  fresh  water.  For  this  purpose  the  small  boat  was 
put  into  commission.  The  larger  one,  in  charge  of 
Chytref,  was  ordered  to  make  explorations.  The  dis- 
cord which  reigned  on  board  is  well  illustrated  by  the 
following  incident.  Steller,  who  had  come  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  naturalist,  requested  permission  to  accompany 
Chytref,  in  which  petition  the  latter  joined;  but  for 
some  reason  or  other  Bering  was  deaf  to  all  pleadings. 
After  much  coaxing  Steller  was  permitted  to  go  on 
shore  in  the  small  boat,  but  without  any  other  assistants 
than  the  man  he  had  brought  along  especially  for  that 
purpose.  As  the  boat  pulled  away  orders  were  given 
for  the  trumpets  to  be  blown,  a  mock  salute  to  Steller.399 

398  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrage,  vol.  v,  154. 

399  —  Ibid.,  158.  Steller  seems  to  have  been  altogether  out  of  place  on  the 
St.  Peter.  He  was  a  man  of  high  education  and  culture,  while  his  companions 
on  board  were  ignorant  and  coarse.  We  can  easily  picture  to  ourselves  the 
pleasure  such  men  would  take  in  humiliating  a  man  of  Steller's  type  and  in 
showing  him  how  little  good  book-knowledge  is.  Bering  himself  at  certain 
times  eyed  him  with  contempt,  as  if  to  say,  "Why  did  God  make  such  a 
fool?"  On  the  other  hand,  one  should  not  be  blind  to  the  fact  that  Steller  was 
not  the  most  agreeable  person  to  have  on  a  boat  like  the  St.  Peter.  He  was 
too  willing  to  instruct  and  give  advice  in  all  matters,  even  navigation,  and 
had  the  faculty  of  believing  himself  always  in  the  right.  The  result  of  this 
state  of  affairs  was  unfortunate  for  all  concerned.  It  came  to  the  point  that 
whatever  Steller  suggested,  even  when  in  his  own  province,  was  almost  sure 
to  be  disapproved.  In  many  cases  his  advice  was  sound,  and  had  it  been 
taken,  much  suffering  and  hardship  would  have  been  avoided. 


194  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

About  half  of  the  crew  as  well  as  the  officers  remained 
on  board  taking  on  the  casks  of  water  as  they  were 
brought  from  shore. 

Aware  of  the  disadvantages  under  which  he  was  la- 
boring, and  of  the  short  time  at  his  command,  Steller, 
as  soon  as  he  landed,  began  to  look  for  traces  of  human 
beings.  The  amount  of  work  he  did  on  that  day,  or 
rather  part  of  a  day,  is  indeed  remarkable  and  shows 
him  to  have  been  a  man  of  great  ability.  In  one  spot 
he  found  the  remains  of  a  fire  and  scattered  bones, 
which  gave  him  the  information  he  desired  about  the 
animal  life  of  the  island,  mainland,  and  surrounding 
waters.  A  little  farther  on  he  came  across  some  small 
shellheaps  and  dried  fish,  which  left  him  without  much 
doubt  as  to  the  habits  of  the  people.  At  still  another 
place  he  uncovered  an  habitation  wherein  were  utensils 
of  various  sorts,  smoked  salmon,  sweet  grass,  bows  and 
arrows,  drills  for  fire,  and  other  objects;  and  from  all 
these  he  reasoned  that  America  must  be  much  closer  to 
Asia  than  their  present  position  indicated  and  that  the 
inhabitants  of  those  regions  were  closely  related  to 
those  of  Siberia,  a  conclusion  which  modern  research 
has  not  changed.  He  took  some  of  these  objects  and 
sent  them  to  Bering  on  board  with  a  request  that  men 
be  given  to  help  him,  warning  at  the  same  time  those 
on  shore  to  be  on  their  guard.  While  waiting  for  a 
reply,  Steller  went  on  gathering  specimens  and  making 
observations.  Noticing  from  the  top  of  a  mountain 
smoke  on  another  part  of  the  island,  he  hurried  to  the 
beach  to  notify  Bering  of  the  fact  and  to  request  a  small 
boat  and  several  men  to  look  for  the  people.  While 
waiting  for  a  reply  Steller  made  a  study  of  the  botan- 
ical and  zoological  specimens  he  came  across.  We 
can  easily  picture  the  enthusiasm  of  the  man  as  he  rev- 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  195 

died  among  natural  phenomena  on  which  no  civilized 
man  had  ever  gazed,  the  eagerness  with  which  he  ex- 
pected help  from  Bering  to  enable  him  to  bring  back  to 
the  world  information  about  a  people  on  whom  no  white 
man  had  ever  looked.  This  was  the  great  day,  the 
great  opportunity  of  his  life!  Imagine  then  his  disap- 
pointment, his  bitterness,  on  receiving  word  from  Ber- 
ing that  if  he  did  not  come  on  board  he  would  be  left 
behind.  Becoming  convinced  that  no  help  would  come 
from  that  quarter  he  turned  back  to  the  interior  of  the 
island  and  remained  there  until  sunset  gathering  data 
on  the  place.  When  he  returned  he  was  greeted  by 
another  order  from  the  captain  that  unless  he  came  on 
board  at  once,  he  need  not  come  at  all.  This  led  Steller 
to  remark  sarcastically  that  this  long  and  expensive  ex- 
pedition had  been  planned  in  order  to  fetch  American 
water  to  Asia,  and  that  the  ten  hours  of  exploration 
corresponded  to  the  ten  years  of  preparation.  Steller 
was  somewhat  unreasonable  and  he  allowed  his  enthu- 
siasm to  run  away  with  him.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
Bering  had  to  decide  whether  to  give  Steller  a  boat  and 
men  or  to  use  it  for  taking  on  water  his  decision,  though 
harsh  and  coarsely  worded,  was  not  unjust.  The  trouble 
was  that  the  whole  personnel  of  the  boat  had  reached 
that  stage  of  irritability  where  a  great  deal  was  made 
out  of  every  little  thing.  Steller  and  Bering  viewed 
the  expedition  from  two  different  points:  to  the  former 
its  value  lay  primarily  in  its  contribution  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  natural  sciences  and  therefore  he  and  his 
work  should  be  held  in  high  esteem;  to  the  latter  the 
so-called  sciences  were  of  very  minor  importance  and 
that  it  was  Steller's  business  to  occupy  himself  with 
the  duties  of  ship's  surgeon  and  not  to  meddle  with  any- 
thing else.     When  Steller  came  on  board  with  his  col- 


ig6  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

lection  no  one  seemed  to  care  anything  about  or  pay 
any  attention  to  him.  Orders  were,  however,  given  to 
take  an  iron  kettle,  tobacco,  a  Chinese  pipe,  and  a  piece 
of  Chinese  silk  to  the  place  from  which  the  native 
articles  had  been  taken400  and  to  bring  back  nearly 
everything  of  value  that  was  to  be  found  there.401  Chyt- 
ref  returned  about  an  hour  after  Steller  and  reported 
that  he  discovered  a  land-locked  harbor  in  one  of  the 
islands  where  the  boat  might  lie  in  perfect  safety.  Al- 
though he  met  with  no  human  beings,  he  did  see  a  small 
wooden  building,  the  walls  of  which  were  so  smooth 
as  to  make  it  seem  as  if  they  had  been  planed  and  pre- 
pared with  sharp  tools.  From  this  building  he  brought 
several  objects;  a  large  wooden  box  or  basket,  a  stone, 
which  may  have  been  used  as  a  whetstone  and  which 
had  marks  on  it  as  if  made  by  copper,  a  ball  made  of 
clay  having  in  it  pebbles  and  was  probably  used  as  a 
rattle  for  children,  a  hand-rudder,  and  the  tail  of  a 
silver-tipped  fox.402  No  attempt  was  made  to  set  foot 
on  or  to  reach  the  mainland  for  fear  of  the  natives,  and 
neither  Bering  nor  his  principal  officers,  except  Chyt- 
ref,  touched  land  the  whole  time  the  St.  Peter  was  in 
these  waters. 

Very  early  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-first,  Bering 
came  on  deck  and  seeing  that  the  wind  was  fair  for  get- 
ting out,  ordered  that  the  anchor  be  weighed.     Waxel 

400  Billings'  Voyage,  194.  When  Billings  anchored  at  Kayak  Island  an 
old  man  told  Messrs.  Sarytchef  and  Sauer  that  he  "remembered  that  when  he 
was  a  boy,  a  ship  had  been  close  to  the  bay  on  the  west  side  of  the  island  and 
had  sent  a  boat  ashore;  but  on  its  approaching  land  the  natives  all  ran  away. 
When  the  ship  sailed,  they  returned  to  their  huts  and  found  in  their  subter- 
raneous store  room  some  glass  beads,  leaves  [tobacco],  an  iron  kettle,  and 
something  else." 

401  Steller,  Reise,  165. 

402  —  Ibid.,  166-167;  Journal  of  the  St.  Peter,  60.  In  the  Journal,  there  is 
a  brief  description  of  the  island. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  197 

pleaded  with  him  in  vain  to  wait  until  the  twenty 
empty  water  casks  were  filled.  Bering  felt  that  be- 
cause it  was  already  late,  also  because  so  little  was 
known  of  the  land,  seas,  and  weather,  that  all  should 
be  satisfied  with  what  had  already  been  accomplished 
and  the  return  home  be  entered  upon  over  the  same 
course  on  which  they  had  come.403  Up  to  the  twenty- 
fifth,  the  direction  steered  was  south-southwest,  when 
it  was  agreed  to  sail  southwest  so  long  as  the  drizzly 
weather  continued  and  to  change  to  north  by  west  if  it 
cleared  up,  in  order  to  observe  more  closely  the  newly 
discovered  land.  On  account  of  stormy  wet  weather 
the  southwest  course  was  kept  until  the  thirty-first, 
when  it  cleared  sufficiently  to  sail  northwest  with  a 
southeasterly  wind,  and  by  this  manoeuvre  the  St.  Peter 
passed  near  Ukamak  Island.  In  front  of  this  island 
the  boat  stood  at  anchor  from  early  morning  until  the 
evening  of  August  2.  On  the  third,  in  latitude  fifty- 
six  degrees,  the  mainland  came  into  view  once  more  in 
the  north-northwest  half  west  direction,  at  a  distance 
of  fourteen  miles.  Not  being  able  to  go  farther  to  the 
westward  the  boat  sailed  with  easterly  wind  on  a  south- 
erly course,  and  in  so  doing  she  ran  into  the  Kodiak 
group  of  islands  and  had  some  difficulty  in  finding  a 
way  out.  On  the  seventh,  there  began  one  of  those 
storms,  at  first  mild  but  gradually  increasing  in  force 
and  shifting  to  the  northwest,  which  made  the  return 
voyage  so  tragic.  All  the  ship's  officers  met  on  August 
to  for  deliberation  and  they  agreed  that  owing  to  the 
lateness  of  the  season,  the  fact  that  twenty-six  men  were 
down  with  scurvy,  and  that  about  four  hundred  Ger- 
man miles  still  separated  them  from  Kamchatka,  the 

403  Steller,  Reise,  172. 


198  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

idea  of  exploring  the  American  coast  should  be  given 
up  and  all  haste  made  to  reach  Avatcha.404 

On  the  eleventh  the  wind  blew  from  the  southeast 
making  it  possible  to  sail  westward;  the  next  day  it  was 
calm,  and  this  was  followed  by  head  winds  which  blew 
steadily  until  the  eighteenth  compelling  the  boat  to  beat 
up  and  down  from  north  to  south  without,  however, 
making  much  headway.  Towards  three  o'clock  of  the 
morning  of  the  nineteenth  there  sprung  up  an  east  wind 
with  which  they  sailed  westward  until  about  noon  when 
it  died  out,  but  it  was  still  possible  to  make  some  slight 
advance  towards  the  south  and  farther  and  farther  from 
the  mainland,  which  disappeared  from  view  by  the  fol- 
lowing day.  The  winds  were  contrary  nearly  the  whole 
time  from  the  twentieth  to  the  twenty-fifth  when  a 
strong  storm  from  the  west  came  up.  It  died  down 
somewhat  the  next  day  but  in  order  to  make  any  head- 
way it  was  still  necessary  to  tack.  On  the  morning  of 
the  twenty-seventh  it  was  clear  and  cold  with  the  wind 
still  from  the  west.  According  to  the  Journal  of  the  St. 
Peter,  the  officers  held  a  council  that  day  to  decide  what 
to  do;  and  this  body  concluded  that  because  of  the 
scarcity  of  water,  there  being  only  twenty-five  full 
casks,  and  also  on  account  of  the  head  winds,  the  boat 
should  sail  towards  the  land  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
on  water.  The  boat  had  hardly  started  on  the  new 
course  when  the  wind  veered  again.  Taking  advan- 
tage of  it,  the  course  was  set  anew,  only  to  be  changed 
again  to  northeast  when  the  wind  shifted  once  more 
and  blew  from  the  west.  With  this  breeze  the  St. 
Peter  sailed  the  remainder  of  the  twenty-seventh  and 
the  twenty-eighth.    Towards  evening  of  the  later  day 

404  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix,  389;  Journal  of  the 
St.  Peter,  72.  Waxel's  report  gives  the  position  of  the  boat  at  the  time  as 
53°  12'- 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  199 

land  was  clearly  seen  in  north  by  east.  By  morn- 
ing of  the  twenty-ninth  five  islands  stood  out  with  the 
mainland  in  the  distance.  It  was  three  o'clock  when 
the  first  island  was  reached,  which  stretches  from  north 
to  south.  Late  in  the  evening  anchor  was  dropped  in 
front  of  a  bare  and  rocky  island,  latitude  550  50'  45", 
about  three  versts  off  the  first  mentioned.405  Bering  had 
now  reached  the  Shumagin  Islands,  having  spent  nearly 
forty  days  in  going  from  Kayak  to  Nagai,  which  can  be 
made  in  about  one-tenth  of  the  time  in  fair  weather. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  thirtieth  a  boat  with 
Steller  on  board  was  sent  ashore  for  water.  He  might 
as  well  have  remained  aboard  for  those  in  charge  filled 
the  casks  with  brackish  water  because  it  was  handy. 
Steller  argued  with  them,  pointed  out  better  water  and 
warned  the  officers  of  the  disastrous  effects  of  the  salt 
water  on  the  health  of  the  men,  but  all  to  no  purpose. 
Fifty-two  barrels  of  this  water  were  taken  on  and  this 
may  explain  in  part  why  so  many  suffered  from  scurvy. 
As  there  was  very  little  in  the  medicine  chest  to  fight 
this  disease  Steller  gathered  many  berries  and  grasses 
which  could  be  made  use  of  for  medicinal  purposes. 
He  requested  that  several  men  be  detailed  for  this  work 
but  this  was  not  allowed.  Bering  was  too  ill  to  leave 
the  cabin  and  Waxel  was  practically  in  command,  es- 
pecially in  matters  of  detail,  and  he  and  Steller  were 
not  on  good  terms.  The  taste  of  fresh  food  put  Bering 
on  his  feet  temporarily,  as  soon  as  that  was  gone  he  re- 
lapsed once  more  into  a  helpless  condition.406  A  num- 
ber of  the  sick  were  taken  ashore  and  one  of  them,  Shu- 
magin, died  on  the  thirtieth  as  soon  as  he  was  landed, 
and  was  buried   the  following  day.407     Towards  the 

405  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrage,  vol.  v,  181. 
406_/£/^)    ,g7. 

407  The  island  on  which  he  was  buried  was  called  Shumagin;  at  the  pres- 


200  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

evening  of  the  thirty-first  there  came  on  a  heavy  blow 
accompanied  by  a  high  surf  and  it  was  with  great  dif- 
ficulty and  with  boats  half  full  of  water  that  the  in- 
valids were  taken  on  board.  The  St.  Peter  would  have 
gone  out  to  sea  then  and  there,  instead  of  seeking  shelter 
behind  one  of  the  islands,  had  it  not  been  for  the  ab- 
sence of  Chytref  who  started  on  the  thirtieth  of  August 
for  one  of  the  islands  on  which  fire  was  seen  the  night 
preceding,  and  before  returning  he  lost  his  boat,  two 
or  three  days'  time,  and  nearly  his  own  life  and  the 
lives  of  those  with  him.408  During  the  night  the  wind 
veered  from  east  to  northwest  from  which  quarter  the 
boat  was  protected.  She  could  not  proceed  for  the  rea- 
sons just  given  and  that  was  the  situation  on  Septem- 
ber i.  By  next  morning  the  wind  shifted  to  the  south- 
east. The  large  boat  with  eight  men  was  sent  to  bring 
off  Chytref,  who  had  been  signalling  for  help  by  build- 
ing large  fires.  At  the  same  time  the  St.  Peter  moved 
nearer  to  land.  It  blew  hard  and  rained  all  day;  to- 
wards evening  the  southeast  wind  became  so  strong  that 
three  anchors  were  let  go.  In  the  course  of  the  night 
the  wind  turned  to  the  southwest  from  which  point  no 
danger  was  feared.  On  the  morning  of  the  third,  Chy- 
tref and  all  the  other  men  came  on  board,  and  almost 
immediately  afterwards  the  St.  Peter  got  under  sail  and 
tried  to  work  her  way  out  but  succeeded  only  partially. 
Another  attempt  was  made  on  the  fourth  but  on  ac- 
count of  the  strong  head  wind  it  had  to  be  given  up. 
While  anchored  here  some  one  was  heard  calling  from 
shore;  a  little  later  two  small  boats  were  seen  approach- 
ing.    When  within  a  half  verst  of  the  ship  those  in  the 

ent  time  the  whole  group  of  islands  is  so  named.     According  to  Steller's  de- 
scription [pp.  185-188]  of  the  island  it  is  probably  the  Nagai  of  to-day. 
40s  Muller,  Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,  210-213. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  201 

boats  began  to  speak  in  a  loud  voice  the  meaning  of 
which  no  one  on  the  St.  Peter  understood.  Gestures 
expressing  friendliness  and  an  invitation  to  draw  nearer 
were  made  to  them  from  the  deck.  The  islanders 
moved  up  closer,  and  by  pointing  with  their  hands  to 
the  shore,  their  fingers  to  their  mouths,  and  dipping 
water  with  their  hands,  they  seemed  to  invite  those  on 
ship  to  land  and  have  something  to  eat  and  drink.  Be- 
fore turning  back  to  shore  they  approached  so  near  the 
boat  that  they  could  be  observed  and  presents  given  to 
them.409  When  they  had  gone  the  large  boat  contain- 
ing twelve  men,  including  Waxel  and  Steller,  started 
for  the  spot  from  which  the  natives  had  come.  On  ac- 
count of  the  rocky  beach,  heavy  surf,  and  wind,  it  was 
not  safe  to  run  the  boat  ashore;  the  Koriak  interpreter 
and  two  Russians  waded  through  the  water  to  land 
where  they  were  greeted  by  a  large  party  of  men  and 
women.  One  of  the  natives  went  out  in  his  skin  boat 
to  the  ship's  boat.  He  was  treated  with  brandy  and  an 
old  pipe  full  of  tobacco,  neither  of  which  he  appreci- 
ated and  he  left  in  disgust.  The  three  men  on  the 
beach  were  led  by  the  natives  to  the  spot  where  they  had 
been  seated  and  presented  with  a  piece  of  whale  blub- 
ber, they  said  many  things  to  them  which  were  not  un- 
derstood, and  they  pointed  over  the  hills  as  if  to  say  that 
their  homes  were  over  there.  The  rough  weather  pre- 
vented a  longer  stay  than  about  fifteen  minutes.  As  the 
three  men  started  to  leave  the  natives  tried  to  detain 
them,  especially  the  Koriak,  and  it  became  necessary  to 
discharge  three  muskets  over  their  heads.  In  their 
fright  they  fell  to  the  ground  and  let  go  of  their  men 
who  escaped  to  the  boat  and  got  away.410    There  seems 

409  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrage,  vol.  v,  191-200. 

410  _  jytci. 


202  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

to  have  been  no  harm  intended  by  the  natives.  With  his 
usual  accuracy  and  clearness  Steller  describes  these 
islanders  and  their  customs,  who  resemble  those  seen 
by  Chirikof,  so  that  it  is  possible  to  recognize  them  at 
once  as  the  inhabitants  of  the  Shumagin  Islands.411 

The  party  had  barely  got  on  board  when  a  storm 
came  up  from  the  south  accompanied  by  heavy  rain 
which  continued  all  that  night  and  until  noon  of  Sep- 
tember 5.  Because  the  wind  had  shifted  to  the  south- 
west leaving  them  in  an  exposed  position  the  St.  Peter 
left  her  moorings  at  two  o'clock  to  look  for  shelter  from 
westerly  winds  and  three  hours  later  such  a  spot  was 
found.  Several  islanders  in  their  skin  boats  came  near 
the  boat  giving  those  on  board  another  opportunity  to 
observe  them  closely  and  to  exchange  presents.  All 
during  the  sixth,  the  weather  was  unfavorable,  but 
towards  evening  it  was  possible  to  take  advantage  of  the 
southwest  by  west  wind  and  attempt  to  work  out  of  the 
islands.  By  noon  of  the  next  day  the  last  of  the  islands 
was  about  twenty  miles  in  the  rear.  A  little  later  in  the 
day  the  wind  became  so  strong  that  sails  had  to  be  taken 
in  and  during  the  night  the  mizzen-mast  sail  only  was 
used.  More  and  more  of  the  men  were  becoming  sick, 
and  there  was  some  discussion  on  board  as  to  whether  it 
would  not  be  wise  to  winter  either  in  America  or 
Japan.412  The  gloomy,  uncomfortable  weather  continued 
on  the  eighth  with  the  wind  shifting  from  west  by  north 
to  west  by  south,  but  it  was  possible  to  advance  with  both 
of  these  so  that  by  evening  the  boat  was  on  the  fifty-third 
parallel.  It  calmed  down  during  the  night.  Toward 
morning  a  fair  easterly  wind  came  up  blowing  for  sev- 
eral hours,  pushing  the  boat  on  her  course  until,  ac- 

411  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrdge,  vol.  v,  191-200. 

412  —  Ibid.,   204. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  203 

cording  to  the  calculations  of  the  officers,  three  hun- 
dred twelve  Dutch  miles  separated  them  from  Avatcha. 
There  was  both  rain  and  sunshine  on  the  tenth,  the  wind 
blowing  at  first  from  south-southwest  and  later  south- 
west by  south.  Towards  noon  the  reckoning  showed 
the  boat  to  be  two  hundred  ninety-eight  miles  from 
Avatcha.  Nearly  the  same  wind  and  weather  was  ex- 
perienced the  next  day  and  twenty  more  miles  were 
sailed.  There  were  many  reasons  for  believing  that 
land  was  not  far  away.  On  the  twelfth  the  weather 
changed  for  the  worse,  gloomy  and  calm  at  first,  later 
head  winds  from  the  west  with  rain,  so  that  the  boat  ad- 
vanced only  two  miles.  Owing  to  the  variable  winds 
and  calms  of  the  two  following  days  little  headway  was 
made.  By  noon  of  the  fourteenth  Avatcha  was  yet  two 
hundred  fifty-eight  miles  distant.  Although  it  was 
fair  overhead  on  the  fifteenth,  the  winds  were  not  such 
that  much  progress  could  be  made.  On  the  next  day 
the  wind  seemed  to  come  from  all  directions,  finally 
settling  down  for  a  time  to  south-southwest,  accom- 
panied by  rain.  Eighteen  miles  were  covered  in  the 
last  two  days.  Six  miles  were  added  the  next  day  with 
the  aid  of  winds,  chiefly  from  northwest  by  west.  By 
noon  of  the  eighteenth  Avatcha  was  two  hundred  twen- 
ty-nine miles  off,  wind  mainly  southwest  by  west;  dur- 
ing the  next  twenty-four  hours  three  more  miles  were 
added,  the  wind  being  from  the  northwest  by  west. 
Similar  wind  and  weather  prevailed  on  the  twentieth, 
except  that  it  calmed  down  during  the  night.  The 
twenty-first  was  pleasant  and  sunshiny  with  a  very  quiet 
sea;  towards  evening  it  blew  from  the  southeast  and 
after  midnight  from  northwest  by  west.  This  breeze 
continued  the  next  day  which  was  an  agreeable  one. 
On  the  twenty-third  it  stormed  the  whole  day  and  night, 


204  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

the  wind  from  the  southwest  forced  the  boat  north. 
Towards  evening  the  second  man  of  the  party  died,  the 
Grenadier  Trejakof.  The  observation  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  indicated  the  fifty-first  parallel  and  late  in  the 
day  the  Atka  group  of  islands  loomed  up  suddenly 
and  many  of  them  were  given  saintly  names.  With 
the  southwest  wind  it  was  not  possible  to  get  by  them, 
and  in  order  not  to  run  into  them  it  was  necessary  to 
sail  easterly.  On  the  top  of  these  hardships  a  storm 
came  up  and  blew  with  all  its  fury  for  nearly  two 
weeks,  forcing  the  boat  more  and  more  to  eastward  and 
out  of  her  course  and  causing  considerable  damage  and 
much  suffering. 

On  the  twenty-fifth,  owing  to  the  violence  of  the 
storm,  the  St.  Peter  was  in  danger  of  being  wrecked  on 
the  islands  or  losing  her  masts  and  gear.  Although  the 
wind  died  down  somewhat  the  next  day  the  sea  was  still 
rough  and  the  ship  was  again  forced  to  go  easterly. 
The  twenty-seventh  opened  with  a  hard  blow  from  the 
southeast  but  an  hour  later  it  shifted  to  the  west  and 
blew  with  all  the  violence  imaginable.  The  old  sailors 
on  board  said  they  had  never  before  experienced  any- 
thing like  it.  The  boat  was  in  danger  every  minute  of 
either  losing  her  rigging  and  masts  or  being  swamped 
by  the  waves.  On  the  twenty-eighth  it  was  still  worse. 
It  seemed  to  quiet  down  on  the  twenty-ninth  until  about 
ten  o'clock  at  night  when  once  more  the  southeast  wind 
sprung  up  veering  gradually  to  the  west  and  the  storm 
was  on  again.  It  was  worse  than  anything  that  had 
come  before  it.  One  could  neither  stand  up  nor  lie 
down,  all  abandoned  their  posts  and  resigned  them- 
selves to  what  seemed  inevitable  destruction.  The  boat 
was  tossed  here  and  there  at  the  will  of  the  waves,  and 
one  could  see  only  a  few  feet  ahead.    It  was  impossible 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  205 

to  cook  anything  and  the  only  food  obtainable  was  old 
hardtack.  Half  of  the  crew  was  down  with  scurvy 
and  the  other  half  was  on  its  feet  because  of  necessity 
and  not  because  it  was  physically  able.  Bering,  who 
was  becoming  weaker  from  day  to  day,  recommended 
prayer  and  offerings  to  the  Orthodox  and  Protestant 
churches.  Everyone  looked  forward  to  daylight,  but 
the  first  of  October  dawned  without  bringing  relief,  the 
southwest  wind  blew  as  hard  as  before.  During  the 
day  the  officers  were  of  the  opinion  that  as  soon  as  the 
storm  died  down  an  effort  should  be  made  to  find  some 
place  in  America  for  the  winter. 

Finally  on  the  second  the  storm  abated  somewhat,  al- 
though the  wind  was  still  blowing  from  southwest  and 
the  sea  rough.  During  these  trying  days  the  ship  had 
drifted  three  degrees  south  and  about  fifty  miles  east.413 
Twenty-four  men  were  critically  ill  and  two  had  died. 
Hope  soon  came  back  and  there  was  talk  of  going  on  to 
Kamchatka.  This  hopeful  situation  lasted  only  a  short 
time,  for  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  night  the  southeast  blow 
came  again  raising  a  storm.  On  the  following  day, 
October  3,  it  cleared  and  the  wind  dropped  just  enough 
to  make  it  possible  to  advance  under  one  sail.  The 
fourth  was  still  quieter,  with  a  few  hours  of  sunshine, 
and  another  sail  was  hoisted.  Although  it  was  yet 
stormy  and  the  seas  heavy,  it  did  not  prevent  the  boat 
continuing  her  course  the  next  two  days.  Men  were 
dying  almost  daily.  It  was  cold  and  clear  on  the  sev- 
enth, the  wind  was  westerly  and  the  seas  so  rough  that 
not  much  headway  was  made.  The  same  kind  of 
weather  was  experienced  on  the  eighth  until  about  three 
o'clock,  when  the  southeast  wind  raised  a  storm,  two 

413  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrdge,  vol.  v,  212. 


206  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

hours  later  it  began  to  blow,  rain,  and  hail  from  the 
west. 

The  wind  increased  in  velocity  the  next  day,  driving 
the  boat  northeasterly;  the  same  condition  existed  on 
the  tenth.  Waxel  was  still  of  the  opinion  that  an  har- 
bor in  America  should  be  sought  for  the  winter,  but 
Bering  would  not  agree  to  that.  On  the  eleventh  it  was 
clear  and  sunshiny,  the  wind  from  west-northwest  dy- 
ing down  towards  night,  but  freshening  up  about  mid- 
night from  the  south.  Before  this  wind  the  boat  ran 
westward  at  the  rate  of  one  and  three-fourths  miles  per 
hour.  This  wind  held  on  until  six  o'clock  of  the  after- 
noon of  the  twelfth  when  it  veered  to  southwest  bringing 
a  storm,  rain,  hail,  snow,  and  later  a  rainbow.  The  storm 
blew  over  by  the  thirteenth  and  in  place  of  it  came  a 
head  west  wind  making  it  necessary  to  tack  between 
south  and  northwest.  It  was  quiet  on  the  fourteenth, 
and  the  fifteenth  was  full  of  sunshine  and  generally 
calm,  what  winds  there  were  came  from  the  northwest. 
This  pleasant  weather  continued  until  six  o'clock  of  the 
sixteenth,  when  a  strong  fair  wind  from  the  south  sprung 
up  driving  the  boat  on  her  course  at  the  rate  of  nearly 
four  knots  per  hour.  During  the  night  the  wind  shifted 
to  the  east  increasing  the  speed  of  the  boat  as  high  as  six 
and  a  half  knots.  Towards  the  break  of  day  the  breeze 
shifted  to  the  northeast  and  blew  so  strong  that  the  sails 
were  shortened.  Although  it  rained  on  the  seven- 
teenth the  northeast  wind  continued  to  blow  driving  the 
boat  before  it.  Variable  winds  and  weather  prevailed 
on  the  eighteenth,  the  boat  continued  to  make  from  two 
to  two  and  a  half  knots  sailing  on  a  southwest  by  west 
course  with  northerly  winds.  During  the  next  three 
days  the  situation  remained  unchanged.  On  each  of 
these  days  a  man  died. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  207 

It  was  clear,  sunshiny,  and  frosty  on  October  22,  the 
wind  westerly  and  the  course  north  by  east  towards  the 
American  mainland  which  Waxel  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  reach  because  of  the  health  of  the  men,  the  con- 
dition of  the  boat  and  the  scarcity  of  fresh  water,  there 
being  only  fifteen  barrels,  and  three  of  these  were  leak- 
ing owing  to  the  fact  that  the  wooden  hoops  were  rot- 
ting away.  The  following  day  with  the  change  of  wind 
to  southeasterly  and  later  easterly,  the  course  was  al- 
tered with  the  view  of  arriving  at  Kamchatka  or  some 
island.  According  to  Waxel's  calculations  on  the 
twenty-fourth,  the  St.  Peter  was  one  hundred  thirty- 
four  miles  from  Avatcha,  while  Juschin  insisted  that  it 
was  one  hundred  twenty-two.  It  was  determined  to 
sail  on  the  fifty-second  parallel  so  that  in  case  it  blew 
from  the  south  it  would  be  possible  to  go  north  to 
Avatcha,  if,  however,  it  blew  from  the  north  the  boat 
could  go  south  between  the  first  and  second  Kuril 
Islands.  The  twenty-fifth  started  out  clear  and  sunny, 
but  in  the  afternoon  it  hailed.  At  noon  the  observation 
indicated  fifty-one  degrees,  thirty-five  minutes  as  the 
position  of  the  boat,  and  to  the  north  of  her  an  island 
loomed  up.  From  an  observation  taken  at  noon  on  the 
twenty-sixth,  the  distance  from  Avatcha  was  computed 
to  be  one  hundred  three  miles.  The  south-southwest 
wind  of  the  twenty-seventh  drove  the  boat  northwest- 
erly. At  noon  the  distance  from  Avatcha  was  an- 
nounced as  ninety  miles.  Later  in  the  day  the  velocity 
of  the  wind  increased  necessitating  the  shortening  of 
sail.  It  was  heavy  weather  on  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-eighth  and  when  it  cleared  up  somewhat,  those 
on  deck  saw  an  island  right  before  them  not  a  mile  dis- 
tant. Getting  away  from  here  the  ship  continued  on 
her  course  during  the  twenty-ninth  and  thirtieth,  on  the 


2o8  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

morning  of  which  two  islands  were  seen  lying  near  to 
each  other  close  to  the  fiftieth  parallel.  A  dispute 
came  up  as  to  whether  these  islands  were  the  Kurils, 
the  officers  held  that  they  were  not  while  several  of  the 
men  who  had  spent  much  time  in  Kamchatka  main- 
tained the  opposite  view.  No  one  could  be  quite  cer- 
tain of  the  position  of  the  boat  because  of  the  impossi- 
bility of  making  accurate  observations  and  calculations. 
According  to  the  computations  of  Waxel  and  Chytref 
they  were  still  sixty  miles  short  of  Avatcha,  and,  there- 
fore, they  set  a  northerly  course  and  sailed  on  it  Octo- 
ber 31,  November  1,  2,  and  3,  coming  as  far  as  the 
neighborhood  of  the  fifty-sixth  parallel.  On  midnight 
of  November  4,  the  wind  being  westerly,  the  course 
was  changed  to  southerly.  So  certain  were  those  on 
board  that  Kamchatka  was  close  at  hand  that  on  the 
morning  of  November  5  sails  were  taken  in  so  as  not  to 
run  into  it.  When  about  nine  o'clock  land  showed  it- 
self there  was  great  rejoicing,  the  sick  crawled  out  of 
their  berths  to  have  a  look.  A  number  of  landmarks 
were  identified  as  those  of  Kamchatka  and  the  boat 
sailed  up  and  down  to  get  a  closer  view  of  them  and  by 
doing  so  it  came  into  a  bay.  Fortunately  for  them  the 
sun  came  out  at  noon  allowing  an  observation,  and  to 
their  great  disappointment  their  position  was  found  to 
be  between  the  fifty-fifth  and  fifty-sixth  parallels,  too 
far  north  for  Avatcha.  The  next  move  was  to  get  out 
of  the  bay  and  away  from  land  because  of  the  threaten- 
ing storm. 

The  condition  of  the  men  on  the  boat  was  most  pitiful. 
There  were  only  ten  persons  who  were  able  to  get  about 
at  all.414     During  the  last  few  days  many  on  board  died, 

414  Steller  in  Pallas's  Nene  Nordische  Beytrage,  vol.  v,  219.  Waxel  in  his 
report  [p.  228]  gives  eight  as  the  number  of  men  able  to  be  on  deck. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  209 

the  sick  were  sinking  fast,  and  those  who  stood  their 
watch  were  so  weak  that  they  had  to  be  led  to  their 
places  and  taken  from  them  by  men  who  were  not  in 
much  better  physical  condition  themselves.415  The  days 
were  gloomy  and  short  and  the  nights  long  and  black, 
with  the  danger  of  running  into  some  unknown  land  at 
any  time.  So  helpless  were  they  that  when  the  storm 
broke  on  them  about  midnight  there  was  no  one  able  to 
furl  the  sails,  the  result  being  that  they  were  torn,  the 
masts  sprung  and  became  in  part  useless.  This  was  the 
situation  on  the  morning  of  the  sixth.  A  council  of 
the  ship's  officers  was  called  to  decide  on  the  next  step. 
After  taking  into  consideration  the  condition  of  men 
and  boat,  time  of  year,  distance  from  Avatcha,  lack  of 
water  (only  six  barrels  were  left  on  hand),  and  the  bad 
weather,  it  was  concluded  to  return  to  the  bay  from 
which  they  had  just  come,  land,  save  the  lives  of 
those  on  board  and  if  possible  the  ship.416  The  boat 
was  put  about  and  headed  for  the  land.  When  towards 
sunset  they  were  within  two  versts  of  shore  they  com- 
menced to  heave  the  lead,  moving  gradually  nearer  to 
within  a  verst  and  dropped  anchor  in  nine  fathoms.  It 
was  already  night  (five  o'clock)  but  the  moon  was  shin- 
ing. About  half  an  hour  after  anchoring  a  heavy  surf 
began  to  run  tossing  the  ship  here  and  there  as  if  it  were 
a  plaything.    A  moment  later  the  cable  broke  and  for 

415  Muller,  Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,  227. 

416  Steller,  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nbrdische  Beytrdge,  vol.  v,  224.  According  to 
Steller  Bering  was  opposed  to  this  plan.  He  said  that  since  they  had  suf- 
fered and  endured  so  long  they  should  be  patient  awhile  longer,  and  that  they 
should  make  use  of  the  foremast  and  try  to  reach  Avatcha.  Waxel  and 
Chytref  assured  him  that  they  were  in  Kamchatka  and  persuaded  him  to 
yield  to  their  wishes.  Waxel  in  his  report  [p.  229]  says  that  the  crew  was 
so  weak  that  it  was  dangerous  to  go  farther.  He  also  states  that  the  sailors 
had  a  meeting  of  their  o  ,n  and  notified  the  officers  that  their  strength  was 
failing  them  so  fast  that  they  could  not  be  depended  on  to  work  much  longer. 


210  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

awhile  it  seemed  as  if  all  were  lost.  A  second  anchor 
was  thrown  in  with  no  better  success.  Before  the  third 
could  be  made  ready  a  heavy  sea  lifted  the  boat  over  the 
reef  into  the  calm  water  within  three  hundred  fathoms 
of  the  shore.417 

Aside  from  the  reaction  which  followed  this  almost 
fatal  event,  a  quiet  night  was  spent.  The  next  morn- 
ing being  clear  and  pleasant  with  the  wind  from  the 
northeast,  Steller  with  a  party  of  invalids  made  a  land- 
ing. Waxel,  sick  and  worn  out,  came  also  ashore,  in- 
tending as  soon  as  possible  to  send  to  Avatcha  for  horses 
to  transport  the  sick,  so  certain  was  he  that  they  were 
in  Kamchatka.  During  the  day  several  ptarmigan,  sea 
otters,  and  seals,  none  of  which  showed  any  fear  of  man, 
were  shot  and  sent  with  greens  on  board.  Steller, 
Plenisner  and  several  others  remained  on  land  over 
night  to  watch  over  the  sick  over  whose  heads  shelter 
had  been  constructed  out  of  driftwood  and  canvas.  The 
next  day  they  hunted  and  explored  with  the  view  of 
ascertaining  whether  they  were  in  Kamchatka.  The 
two  first  mentioned  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they 
were  not  and,  therefore,  on  November  9,  went  about  se- 
lecting a  site  for  winter  quarters  and  to  prepare  accom- 
modations for  the  sick  who  were  being  daily  landed. 
A  number  of  the  invalids  died  before  they  touched 
ground  and  as  soon  as  they  came  in  contact  with  the 
fresh  air.  On  this  account  those  who  had  not  yet  been 
disturbed  were  carefully  wrapped,  and  in  this  manner 
Bering  was  brought  ashore  on  the  tenth.  He  was  com- 
posed and  clear-headed  and  made  inquiries  as  to  their 
situation.  He  was  placed  under  the  care  of  Steller, 
the  Assistant-surgeon  Betge,  and  Plenisner,  who  tried 

417  There  were  two  dead  bodies  on  board  which  were  to  be  buried  on  shore 
the  next  day;  but  as  soon  as  the  superstitious  sailors  realized  that  the  boat  was 
in  danger  they  laid  the  blame  on  these  corpses  and  threw  them  overboard. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  211 

to  nurse  him  back  to  health.  By  the  twenty-first  nearly 
every  one  was  ashore,  including  Waxel  and  Chytref, 
both  of  whom  were  very  ill.  It  was  a  most  pitiful  and 
heart-breaking  picture  which  presented  itself  on  the 
beach.  Scattered  here  and  there  were  the  dead,  dying, 
and  helpless  sick,  some  without  shelter  or  the  necessary 
covering.  This  one  complained  that  he  was  cold,  an- 
other that  he  was  hungry,  a  third  that  he  was  thirsty, 
and  many  were  in  such  bad  condition,  their  gums  being 
so  swollen,  that  they  could  not  partake  of  food  when  it 
was  handed  to  them.  To  add  to  this  already  tragic 
scene  dozens  and  dozens  of  blue  foxes  infested  the  camp 
and  could  not  be  driven  away.  They  tugged  at  the 
dead,  bit  the  living,  scattered  and  spoiled  the  provisions, 
stole  the  boot  of  one  man,  the  shirt  of  another,  and  the 
hat  of  a  third.  Whatever  was  in  sight,  even  articles 
made  of  metal,  they  carried  off.418  Under  these  condi- 
tions many  perished  who,  had  they  reached  Kamchatka 
and  had  the  needed  attention  and  necessary  nourish- 
ment, might  have  survived.  Bering  breathed  his  last 
on  December  8,  and  was  buried  near  where  he  died  on 
the  island  which  now  bears  his  name.419     Thirty  men 

418  Steller,  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordisc/ie  Beytrdge,  vol.  v,  232-236.  The  blue 
foxes  were  so  numerous  that  the  first  day  when  Steller  and  Plenisner  were 
building  their  hut  they  killed  sixty  with  their  axes  and  pikes  in  order  to  keep 
them  off.  On  the  next  day  they  killed  so  many  that  they  lay  there  in  piles 
and  were  used  that  night  for  stopping  up  the  holes  in  their  dwelling. 

419  Muller's  account  of  the  death  of  Bering  has  been  repeated  by  some 
writers  and  exaggerated  by  others.  This  is  what  Muller  says:  "Man  kann 
sagen,  dass  er  noch  bey  lebendigem  Leibe  halb  begraben  worden.  Denn  wie 
in  der  Grube,  worin  er  lag,  bestandig  Sand  von  den  Seitenwanden  Herab- 
rollete,  und  seine  Fusse  bedeckte ;  so  erlaubte  er  zuletzt  nicht  me'nr,  dass 
solches  dorfte  weggeraumet  werden.  Er  empfund  davon,  seiner  Sage  nach, 
etwas  Warme,  die  ihm  sonst  an  den  ubrigen  Theilen  seines  Leibes  abgieng. 
Und  so  haufte  sich  der  Sand  bis  an  den  Unterlieb ;  daher  man,  da  er  mit 
Tode  abgeing,  ihn  erst  aus  dem  Sande  hervorscharren  muste,  um  ihn  auf 
gehorige  Art  zur  Erden  zu  bestatten"  -  Muller,  Sammlung  Russicher  Ge- 
schichte,  vol.  iii,  238.     Muller  does  not  give  his  authority  for  his  statement,  and 


212  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

in  all  lost  their  lives  from  the  time  of  leaving  Avatcha 
until  January  8,  when  the  last  of  the  diseased  men 
passed  away.420 

it  is  probably  an  exaggerated  account  which  had  gathered  in  the  course  of 
time.  Steller,  who  was  with  Bering  to  the  very  last,  relates  a  different  story: 
"So  aber  kam  er  fast  vor  Hunger,  Durst,  Kalte,  Ungemavh  und  Betrubniss 
urn,  und  der  odomatose  Geschwulst  der  Fusse,  den  er  schon  langst  von  einem 
gestropften  Tertianfieber  hatte,  wurde  durch  die  Kalte  vermehrt  und  in  den 
Leib  und  die  Brust  getrieben,  endlich  aber  seinem  Leben,  durch  den  im  Unter- 
liebe  entstanden  Brand,  am  8  December  zwey  Stunden  vor  Tage,  ein  Ende 
gemacht.  So  jammervoll  sein  Tod  seinen  Freunden  scheinen  musste,  so  be- 
wunderswurdig  war  seine  Gelassenheit  und  erstliche  Zubereitung  zum  Schei- 
den,  welches  bey  volliger  Vernunft  und  sprache  erfolgte.  Er  selbst  war 
uberzeugt,  dass  wir  an  ein  unbekanntes  Land  verschlagen  worden,  dennoch 
wollte  er  durch  seine  Behauptung  die  ubrigen  nicht  gern  niedergeschlagen 
machen,  sondern  ermunterte  vielmehr  auf  alle  Weise  zur  Hofnung  und 
Thatigkeit.  Wir  begruben  dessen  entseelten  Leichnam  Tages  darauf,  nach 
Protestantischen  Kirchengebrauchen  nahe  bey  unsrer  Wohnung,  do  er  zwischen 
seinen  Adjutanten,  einem  Commissario  und  zwey  Grenadieren  liegt,  und 
setzen  bey  unsrer  Abreise  auf  die  Grabstatte,  zum  Merkmal  ein  holzernes 
Kreuz,  welches  zugleich  fur  die  Besitznehmung  des  Landes  gelten  konnte"  - 
Steller,  Pallas'  Neue  NordiscJie  Beytrdge,  vol.  vi,  8-9. 

420  There  is  an  episode  in  connection  with  this  voyage  which  is  of  some 
interest  and  which  has  been  the  cause  of  not  a  little  misunderstanding.  In 
1750  J.  N.  Delisle,  who  had  left  St.  Petersburg  in  1747,  read  a  paper  before 
the  Academy  at  Paris,  in  which  he  said  that  Bering  was  wrecked  on  an  island 
and  had  not  been  in  America,  and  that  Chirikof  and  Delisle  de  la  Croyere 
had  touched  on  the  American  coast.  This  statement  was  bitterly  attacked  and 
its  author  roughly  handled  by  Muller  [?]  in  a  Lettre  d'un  Offlcier  de  la  Ma- 
rine Russienne.  The  point  is  this:  Did  Delisle  say  what  he  did  to  belittle 
Bering  and  magnify  the  deeds  of  Chirikof,  and  especially  of  his  brother,  or 
was  he  simply  ignorant  of  the  true  state  of  affairs?  The  writer  believes  that 
the  latter  explanation  is  the  true  one,  and  for  these  reasons:  (1)  When  Delisle 
left  Russia  many  of  the  original  journals  and  charts  were  in  Siberia  [Zapiski 
Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenia,  vol.  ix,  468];  (2)  Delisle  did  not  know 
the  true  facts  of  Bering's  voyage,  because  in  his  manuscript,  although  one 
finds  extracts  of  many  of  the  voyages,  there  is  not  a  single  word  about  the  St. 
Peter's;  (3)  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  Admiralty  College  gave  out  (by  1750) 
accurate  details  regarding  Bering's  voyage,  because  the  whole  of  Europe  had 
erroneous  ideas  on  the  subject;  (4)  Delisle  got  his  information  for  the  state- 
ment from  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  following 
freely  translated  extracts. 

"Captain  Behring,  who  went  to  make  an  attempt  to  find  out  whether  one 
could  go  to  America  by  way  of  the  Arctic  Sea  [Mer  du  Nord],  was  wrecked 
on  the  coast  of  an  island,  and  the  captain  with  the  larger  part  of  the  crew 
died   there.     Steller,   the   botanist   of  the   Academy,   and  several   sailors  were 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  213 

In  more  recent  times  a  monument  has  been  erected 
on  that  island  by  the  Russian  government  to  him  who 
gave  the  best  part  of  his  life  to  determine  whether  Asia 
and  America  are  united.  With  his  discoveries  the 
czar's  dominions  reached  their  farthest  extent.  What- 
ever faults  Bering  had,  it  can  not  be  said  of  him  that 
he  shirked  a  task  because  it  was  hard  and  unpleasant. 
His  defamers  have  belittled  themselves  by  accusing  him 
of  short  comings  from  which  deeper  study  and  fairer 
judgment  would  have  shown  him  to  be  free;  his  friends 
have  not  added  to  their  reputation  by  slandering  those 
who  fail  to  see  in  him  a  "Russian  Columbus."  The 
mere  discovery  of  land  does  not  make  one  a  Columbus, 
although  it  may  make  one  famous.  A  great  discoverer 
must  possess  special  qualifications  and  ability  for  such 
work,  Bering  at  no  time  displayed  unusual  qualities. 
He  was,  in  school  language,  a  "plodder;"  he  did  the 
work  before  him  faithfully  and  to  the  best  of  his  abil- 

fortunate  enough  to  resist  the  disease  and  from  the  wreck  of  the  big  boat 
built  a  smaller  one,  on  which  they  returned  to  Kamchatka.  Steller  says  that 
he  met  Captain  Tscherikov  who  told  him  that  he  had  been  on  the  coast  of 
some  unknown  country  whose  inhabitants  resemble  the  Americans.  But  when 
he  attempted  to  land  he  was  repulsed  by  the  Americans,  and  after  losing  sev- 
eral soldiers  and  sailors,  he  had  to  give  it  up."  -  Gazette  de  France,  Novem- 
ber 16,  1743.     (De  Petersburg,  October  20). 

"Mr.  George  Guillaume  Steller  of  Windsheim,  Franconia,  famous  bot- 
anist and  Professor  of  the  Imperial  Academy,  died  recently  between  Tobolsk  and 
Cathrinesburg.  This  scholar  is  generally  mourned.  He  was  coming  to  Kam- 
chatka after  having  discovered  one  of  the  islands  of  North  America  and 
proved  that  it  was  only  a  short  distance  from  there  to  the  Russian  Empire. 
He  undertook  this  discovery  in  1738  by  the  order  of  the  Court  in  a  vessel 
commanded  by  Captain  Behring.  They  had  the  misfortune  to  get  wrecked 
on  an  island,  where  the  captain  and  the  greater  part  of  the  crew  died."  - 
Eibliotheque  Germanique,  Tome  3   (published  after  1746). 

"News  has  reached  here  that  Mr.  Steller,  the  famous  botanist  and  member 
of  the  Imperial  Academy,  died  recently.  .  .  He  was  returning  from  Kam- 
chatka after  having  discovered  one  of  the  North  American  islands  and  proved 
that  it  was  only  a  short  distance  from  there  to  the  Russian  Empire."  -  Am- 
sterdam Gazette,  January  25,   1747. 


2i4  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

ity.  From  this  point  of  view  Bering  may  be  called 
great. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  behavior  of  those  who 
were  able  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Steller,  Plenis- 
ner,  the  assistant  surgeon,  and  two  or  three  others  joined 
hands  to  stand  by  each  other.  They  organized  their 
forces,  divided  their  work,  and  were  soon  as  comfort- 
able as  they  could  be  under  the  circumstances.  During 
the  life  time  of  Bering  he  was  looked  after  by  this  small 
company.  A  number  of  the  other  men  followed  their 
example  and  they  too  banded  together.  The  sick  were 
not  neglected,  but,  judging  from  Steller's  journal,  it 
would  seem  that  their  wants  were  not  always  looked  af- 
ter first.  During  the  long  sea  voyage  certain  feuds  and 
enmities  had  developed  and  these  were  not  immediately 
forgotten.  The  sick,  outside  of  those  already  mentioned, 
were  placed  under  cover  in  one  place  and  there  they 
lay  cursing  their  evil  fortune  and  their  officers  who  led 
them  into  this  undertaking.  Chytref  when  he  was  tak- 
en ill  was  brought  into  this  place  and  had  to  listen  to 
the  men  calling  down  God's  anger  on  him  for  the  things 
he  did  and  did  not  do.  He  begged  Steller  and  his  party 
to  take  him  out  of  this  common  sick  room  into  their 
quarters,  but  partly  because  of  lack  of  room  but  chiefly 
because  of  the  hate  which  they  bore  him,  they  refused 
his  request.  Waxel  received  a  little  better  treatment, 
although  the  Steller  crowd  would  not  take  him  in,  they 
did  provide  separate  quarters  for  him  and  several  other 
sick  men.  It  is  not  clear  whether  Chytref  was  of  that 
number  or  not.421 

By  January  i,  there  were  five  underground  huts  to 
shelter  the  men  for  the  winter:  the  so-called  barracks, 
the   lieutenants'   quarters,   Steller's   place,   the  hut  of 

421  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrdge,  vol.  vi,  4-5. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  215 

Alexei  Iwanof,  and  the  one  of  Luka  Alexeef.  In  front 
of  each  building  were  several  large  casks  used  as  store 
houses  which  served  to  keep  the  foxes  out.  As  the  men 
became  stronger  and  the  memories  of  those  frightful 
days  were  less  tense  they  drew  closer  to  each  other  and 
worked  more  in  harmony  and  to  a  common  end.  They 
organized  themselves  into  three  companies.  One  was 
to  provide  the  camp  with  meat  which  became  the  main 
article  of  diet.  As  there  were  a  great  many  sea  otters, 
seals,  sea  cows,  sea  lions,  and  sea  bears,  there  was  no 
lack  of  food  at  first.  But  the  men  became  thoughtless 
and  killed  a  great  deal  of  game  for  mere  sport  or  for 
the  sake  of  their  pelts,  this  was  especially  true  of  the  sea 
otter,  the  animals  were  driven  farther  and  farther  from 
camp.  Towards  the  end  of  the  stay  it  was  necessary  to 
go  a  distance  of  eighteen  to  twenty  miles  to  find  them.422 
Bread  and  other  foods  were  also  given  out  but  not  in 
the  same  abundance.  From  the  middle  of  November 
to  the  beginning  of  May  each  person  was  allowed 
monthly  thirty  pounds  of  flour  and  several  pounds  of 
pearl-barley,  the  last  named  article,  however,  gave  out 
after  two  months.  During  May  and  June  only  twenty 
pounds  of  flour  were  allowed  to  each  man,  and  in  July 
and  August  no  flour  at  all  was  forthcoming,  because 
there  were  only  twenty-five  puds  (nine  hundred 
pounds)  left  and  this  was  kept  to  be  used  on  the  voyage 
to  Kamchatka.  No  one  suffered  from  this  scarcity  of 
flour  and  many  did  not  use  up  their  share  partly  because 
they  had  other  things  to  eat  and  partly  because  the  lack 
of  a  good  bake-oven  and  the  poor  quality  of  the  flour 
which  had  suffered  from  having  stood  long  in  the  leath- 
er sacks  and  from  having  come  in  contact  with  salt 
water  and  distasteful  substances  at  the  time  of  the  wreck. 


422  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrage,  vol.  vi,  19;  Waxel  [p. 
232]   says  even  thirty  miles. 


2i6  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

The  usual  way  of  preparing  it  for  food  was  to  make  it 
into  cakes  and  fry  it  in  whale,  seal,  or  sea  cow  oil. 

The  second  company  had  for  its  task  the  providing 
of  wood  for  the  camp  and  this  was  regarded  as  the  hard- 
est work  of  all.  With  the  exception  of  some  scrub- 
brush  there  was  not  a  tree  on  the  island.  There  was 
a  considerable  amount  of  driftwood  on  the  place;  that 
which  was  near  camp  was  used  up  very  soon  in  build- 
ing the  huts  and  for  firewood  and  the  remainder  was 
covered  by  several  feet  of  snow.  Towards  the  end  of 
March  the  men  had  to  go  as  far  as  fifteen  and  sixteen 
versts  for  their  wood  which  they  had  to  carry  on  their 
backs.  In  addition  to  its  being  hard  and  trying  work 
it  was  also  dangerous.423  After  the  middle  of  May  when 
the  snow  disappeared  wood  was  found  close  by  and  the 
search  for  fire-wood  lost  its  terrors.  A  new  source  of 
supply  came  from  the  breaking  up  of  the  boat. 

The  third  company  busied  itself  with  the  cooking. 
The  question  of  nationality  seems  to  have  been  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  division  of  labor.  Whenever  pos- 
sible it  was  arranged  that  a  German  and  Russian  should 
share  equally  in  the  work  of  cooking  and  hunting.424 

423  On  several  occasions  the  men  were  nearly  overcome  by  the  hardships 
and  dangers  involved  in  going  such  long  distances.  On  April  i,  four  hunters 
went  out  to  bring  game.  Towards  evening  a  blinding  snow-storm  came  up  so 
that  they  could  only  with  great  difficulty  see  a  few  feet  ahead  of  them  and 
they  could  hardly  keep  their  feet.  Under  the  circumstances  the  men  became 
separated.  Three  of  them  spent  the  night  under  several  feet  of  snow  out  of 
which  they  extricated  themselves  the  following  morning  with  great  difficulty. 
When  they  reached  camp  they  could  neither  speak  nor  think  and  one  was 
totally  blind.  The  fourth  member  of  the  party  after  becoming  separated  fell 
into  the  water  and  was  chilled  through  and  through.  When  found  next  morn- 
ing he  was  wandering  up  and  down  the  beach,  having  lost  his  reason.  They 
were  given  the  necessary  attention  and  they  all  recovered.  About  the  same 
time  another  small  party  was  caught  by  the  high  water  and  was  kept  on  a 
rock  for  seven  days  without  food  or  fire  [Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische 
Beytrdge,  vol.  vi,  15-17]. 

424  —  Ibid.,  12-13. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  217 

During  the  winter  months  efforts  were  made  to  as- 
certain whether  the  place  where  the  men  were  en- 
camped was  part  of  Kamchatka  or  some  outlying  is- 
land. A  few  days  after  landing  several  men  were  sent 
to  examine  the  lay  of  the  land  to  the  westward.  On 
their  return  they  said  that  they  found  no  trace  of  human 
beings  or  any  evidence  which  would  lead  them  to  think 
that  they  were  on  Kamchatka.425  Towards  the  end  of 
December  another  party  was  sent  out  eastward  and  on 
its  return  on  December  26,  it  gave  its  opinion  that  they 
were  on  an  island.  They  did  find  rudders,  casks,  and 
other  objects  which  led  them  to  think  that  Kamchatka 
was  not  far  off.426  On  February  25,  four  others  were 
commissioned  to  go  westward,  but  they  did  not  go  far 
and  came  back  without  having  accomplished  anything 
of  value.427  An  attempt  was  made  to  follow  the  coast 
in  a  southerly  direction.  For  this  purpose  several  men 
were  sent  on  March  15,  and  they,  too,  were  unable  to 
report  anything  more  definite  than  the  finding  of  a  part 
of  a  Kamchatka  boat  known  to  the  men.  A  week  later 
several  members  of  this  company  went  again  in  the 
same  direction.  It  was  understood  that  in  case  they 
discovered  that  they  were  on  an  island  they  should  all 
return  at  once  in  order  that  the  construction  of  a  new 
boat  might  not  be  delayed;  if  however,  it  was  found 
that  they  were  on  the  mainland  of  Kamchatka  half  of 
the  company  should  proceed  to  Avatcha  and  the  other 
half  should  hasten  back  to  camp.  On  April  6  they  re- 
turned saying  that  they  were  certain  that  they  were  on 
an  island  and  that  they  saw  to  the  northeast  of  them 

423  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrage,  vol.  vi,  5. 
426  —  Ibid.,  12-13. 
i2'  —  Ibid. 


218  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

high  mountains  which  seemed  to  them  to  belong  to 
some  island  off  Kamchatka  and  not  America.428 

Now  that  there  was  no  longer  any  doubt  as  to  their 
being  on  an  island  the  only  way  left  for  reaching  Kam- 
chatka was  by  water.  The  St.  Peter,  after  the  exciting 
events  of  the  night  of  November  6,  lay  quietly  at  an- 
chor until  towards  the  end  of  that  month  when  she  was 
blown  farther  on  the  beach.429  On  February  i,  a  high 
tide  and  northwest  wind  carried  her  still  farther  ashore 
and  it  became  very  doubtful  whether  she  could  be  got- 
ten into  deep  water  again  even  if  it  were  found  that  her 
bottom  was  sound.430  At  a  meeting  held  on  April  9, 
it  was  decided  to  break  up  the  boat  at  once  and  build  a 
smaller  one,  and  the  men  were  reorganized  with  this  ob- 
ject in  view.  Twelve  men  were  selected  to  occupy 
themselves  exclusively  with  this  work,  the  others, 
Waxel,  Chytref,  and  Steller  excepted,  were  divided  in- 
to two  gangs  to  hunt  and  work  about  camp  by  turns.431 
Although  there  was  now  plenty  of  wood,  the  men  had 
to  go  long  distances  for  game,  as  was  already  noted,  and 
this  was  now  regarded  the  hardest  work.  On  May  6 
the  keel  was  laid.  To  celebrate  the  event  Waxel  in- 
vited all  to  his  dwelling  and  treated  them  to  the  best  he 
had,  none  of  which  was  intoxicating.  Everybody 
worked  with  a  will  for  they  were  eager  to  get  away 
from  the  island,  and  the  long  and  pleasant  days  helped 
them  very  much.  Now  and  then  the  hunters  were  for- 
tunate in  killing  near  camp  sea  cows,  or  sea  bears,  or 

428  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordische  Beytrage,  vol.  vi,  12-14,  17-18. 

429  _  ibi^  6. 

430  —  Ibid.,  12.  According  to  the  Journal  of  the  St.  Peter  the  officers  and 
sailors  met  on  January  18  and  29  to  discuss  the  extent  of  the  injuries  suffered 
by  the  St.  Peter.  Five  arguments  were  advanced  to  prove  that  the  boat  was 
past  repair.  This  report  was  signed  by  all  the  officers  and  sailors,  except 
Ovtzin  who  submitted  a  minority  report. 

m—Ibid.,  18. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  219 

finding  a  whale,  all  of  which  made  it  possible  to  reduce 
the  number  of  men  in  their  party  and  add  them  to  the 
ship  builders,4'"  or  to  put  them  to  other  work. 

Before  launching  the  boat  on  August  8  all  hands 
gathered  for  prayer.  St.  Peter,  after  whom  the  new 
boat  was  named,  was  prayed  to  that  he  might  take  the 
vessel  under  his  protection  and  bring  her  safe  to  Kam- 
chatka.433 After  two  days  more  of  hard  work,  the  boat 
was  gotten  into  the  water.  She  had  a  thirty-six  foot 
keel,  measured  forty-two  feet  from  bow  to  stern,434  and 
drew  five  and  a  half  feet  of  water.  On  the  eleventh 
the  mast  was  put  in  and  the  tackle  and  gear  prepared. 
At  the  same  time  a  small  ship's  boat  was  being  con- 
structed to  be  carried  on  deck.  Others  were  putting 
provisions  and  other  material  on  board.  Among  the 
supplies  which  were  taken  on  were  twenty-five  puds  of 
rye-flour,  five  barrels  of  salted  sea  cow  meat,  also  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  dried  meat  of  this  animal,  two 
puds  pease,  one  barrel  of  salted  beef  which  had  been 
saved  for  this  purpose.  In  addition  each  man  had  four 
pounds  of  butter  and  most  of  them  had  saved  up  enough 
flour  during  their  stay  on  the  island  to  provide  them- 
selves with  bread.435 

On  August  13  all  went  on  board  and  trusted  their 
lives  once  more  to  the  waves.  That  boat  was  so  small 
and  the  amount  of  baggage  so  large  that  there  was  not 
room  enough  for  the  forty-six  men  to  travel  with  com- 
fort. It  was  necessary  to  throw  some  of  the  baggage 
overboard  before  they  could  find  space  for  all.     After 

432  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nordisc/ie  Beytrdge,  vol.  vi,  20-21.  During 
July  Chytref  and  others  examined  the  shore  by  land  and  water  in  order  to  find 
harbors  and  to  determine  on  the  course  to  sail  after  leaving  the  island. 

433  —  Ibid.  Waxel  in  his  report  gives  these  dimensions:  thirty-six  feet 
long,  twelve  feet  deep,  five  and  one-fourth  feet  under  water. 

434  —  Ibid, 

435  —  Ibid.,  22. 


220  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

prayer  on  the  morning  of  the  14th  the  sails  were 
hoisted  and  the  voyage  begun  with  a  fair  wind.  The 
pleasant  weather  and  good  breeze  remained  with  them 
all  during  the  following  day,  the  course  sailed  being 
west  by  south.  That  night,  however,  a  leak  was  dis- 
covered and  the  vessel  began  to  fill  and  many  thought 
that  their  last  moment  had  come.  The  sails  were  reefed 
and  a  search  was  made  for  the  leak  which  was  happily 
found  and  stopped.  On  the  sixteenth  a  similar  course 
to  that  of  the  fifteenth  was  sailed;  on  the  seventeenth 
Kamchatka  came  in  view.  As  the  boat  came  under  the 
land  the  wind  either  died  out  altogether  or  was  dead 
ahead  so  that  it  was  not  before  the  evening  of  the  twen- 
ty-seventh that  the  St.  Peter  came  to  anchor  in  Avatcha 
Bay.436  Many  of  the  inhabitants  welcomed  them  glad- 
ly; others  were  less  elated  for  having  given  them  up  as 
lost  they  had  helped  themselves  to  the  things  which  the 
officers  and  crew  had  left  behind.  The  day  after  land- 
ing was  set  apart  as  a  day  of  thanksgiving  for  having 
been  spared  and  brought  back  in  good  health.  In  the 
old  church  at  Petropavlovsk  there  used  to  hang  two 
icons,  representing  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  The  frame 
of  one  was  richly  decorated  with  silver  donated  by  those 
who  returned;  under  it  was  written, 

This  holy  picture  is  adorned  according  to  the  promise  of  Di- 
mitri  Ovtzin  and  others  on  being  saved  from  the  desert  island 
and  on  arriving  in  Kamchatka  in  1742. 

SPANBERG'S  VOYAGE  TO  JAPAN 

The  part  of  Bering's  third  proposition,  which  re- 
ferred to  the  finding  of  a  route  between  Okhotsk  and 
Japan,  was  entrusted  to  Spanberg  with  these  instruc- 
tions:437 Captain  Spanberg  should  build,  either  at  Ok- 

436  Steller  in  Pallas's  Neue  Nbrdische  Beytrage,  vol.  vi,  25. 

437  Polnoe  Sobranie  Zaknof,  Rossiskoi  Imperii,  vol.  viii,  doc.  6291. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  221 

hotsk  or  Kamchatka,  three  boats  and  on  these  sail  to 
find  a  way  to  Japan ;  on  the  way  he  was  to  examine  the 
islands  between  Kamchatka  Cape  and  Japan,  some  of 
these  islands  being  already  under  Russian  jurisdiction 
(if  there  were  any  islands  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Emperor  of  Japan,  he  was  to  take  note  of  those  also  and 
try  to  enter  into  friendly  relations  with  the  inhabitants)  ; 
to  continue  from  there  to  Japan  and  learn  about  its  gov- 
ernment, ports,  and  the  possibilities  of  entering  into 
friendly  relations  with  the  people.  If  there  should  be 
any  shipwrecked  Japanese  in  Kamchatka,  they  should 
be  taken  back  to  their  country  as  a  sign  of  friendliness 
towards  their  country.  On  coming  to  Japan  with  these 
shipwrecked  Japanese,  it  might  be  well  to  give  as  an 
excuse  for  coming,  the  desire  to  return  these  men  to 
their  homes;  but  in  case  the  Japanese  government 
should  refuse  to  receive  them,  then  they  were  to  be  put 
ashore  somewhere  and  allowed  to  find  their  way  home. 
In  every  possible  way  friendliness  was  to  be  shown  and 
an  attempt  made  to  overcome  their  inveterate  Asiatic 
unsociableness.  While  in  Japan,  care  was  to  be  taken 
not  to  do  anything  which  might  offend  the  Japanese. 
Warning  was  given  not  to  believe  all  that  was  said  to 
them,  nor  to  allow  themselves  to  be  led  into  a  trap  and 
attacked,  nor  to  linger  there  any  longer  than  was  really 
necessary.  Bering's  suggestion  to  invite  the  Japanese 
to  meet  the  Russians  half-way  in  their  boats  was  not  to 
be  made  to  them. 

Spanberg,  as  has  already  been  noted,  arrived  at  Ok- 
hotsk in  1735,  and  for  three  years  he  was  busy  building 
boats  and  preparing  for  his  mission.  His  fleet  consist- 
ed of  the  flag-ship  Archangel  Michael  (sixty  by  eigh- 
teen by  seven  and  one-half  feet),  the  double  sloop 
Nadezhda   (seventy  by  seventeen  by  five  feet),  cap- 


222  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

tained  by  Walton,  and  the  old  St.  Gabriel,  in  command 
of  Shelting.  On  the  flag-ship  were  sixty-three  men, 
but  the  two  other  boats  had  forty-four  each. 

The  three  vessels  left  Okhotsk  June  18,  1738,  and  on 
meeting  with  ice,  ran  into  Bolshaya  River  where  they 
remained  until  July  15,  taking  on  provisions  and  the 
crew  of  the  wrecked  Fortune.  After  leaving  this  port 
the  boats  became  separated  in  the  fog;  the  Gabriel  dis- 
appeared from  view  on  the  nineteenth,  and  five  days 
later  the  Nadezhda  was  equally  invisible.  The  Arch- 
angel cruised  among  the  Kurils,  bestowing  names  on 
about  twenty-nine  of  them,  but  no  landing  was  made  on 
account  of  the  rocky  shores.  On  August  3,  Spanberg, 
being  near  Urup  Island  [Company  Land]  forty-five 
and  one-half  degrees,  turned  back  because  of  the  late 
season,  long  nights,  thick  weather,  unknown  seas,  strong 
currents,  lack  of  provisions,  fear  of  the  enemy,  and  oth- 
er such-like  reasons.  Nothing  of  special  interest  hap- 
pened on  the  return  voyage,  and  on  August  17  Spanberg 
anchored  once  more  in  Bolshaya  River,  where  he  found 
Shelting.  A  week  later  Walton  came  in,  saying  that 
he  had  been  as  far  south  as  forty-three  and  one-half 
degrees. 

One  year  of  the  two  allowed  for  the  work  was  al- 
ready used  up  without  any  great  results.  During  the 
winter  of  1738-1739,  Spanberg  constructed  a  new  boat 
(fifty  by  eleven  by  four  and  one-half  feet)  and  in  honor 
of  the  fort  named  her  Bolsheretzk.  She  drew  but  little 
water  and  was  provided  with  oars  to  enable  her  to  move 
about  more  easily  among  the  islands  and  to  make  land- 
ings. The  old  Gabriel,  which  had  been  damaged  in 
the  course  of  the  winter  in  attempting  to  go  to  Okhotsk, 
was  repaired  and  once  more  made  serviceable. 

On  May  21,  1739,  the  four  boats  sailed  away  from 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  223 

Kamchatka,  directing  their  course  for  the  first  Kuril 
island,  which  was  reached  on  the  twenty-fifth.  Here 
an  interpreter  was  taken  on  board.  For  some  unknown 
reason,  Spanberg  shifted  Walton  to  Shelting's  and 
Shelting  to  Walton's  boat.  From  this  place  they  de- 
parted June  1,  sailing  first  southeasterly  as  far  as  the 
forty-second  parallel  without  being  able  to  find  Gama 
or  any  other  land,  and  then  the  course  was  changed  to 
southwest.  Muller  says438  that  on  June  14  a  storm 
separated  Walton  from  the  other  navigators,  but  one  is 
more  inclined  to  believe  Spanberg,  who  charges  that 
Walton  had  been  trying  for  some  time  to  get  away,  and 
that  it  had  been  necessary  to  order  the  crew  of  Walton's 
boat  not  to  follow  their  captain  in  such  an  attempt.439 
Intentionally  or  otherwise  Walton  disappeared. 

Spanberg  continued  on  his  course.  On  June  16,  in 
latitude  thirty-nine  degrees,  he  sighted  Nippon  and  fol- 
lowed its  coast  for  two  days  more  which  brought  him  to 
latitude  thirty-eight  degrees,  forty-one  minutes440  where 
he  anchored.  From  deck  one  could  see  many  villages, 
cultivated  fields,  forests,  and  junks.  Two  of  the  last 
named  came  up  within  thirty  or  forty  fathoms  of  the 
Archangel  Michael  but  would  not  approach  any  nearer 
although  Spanberg  invited  them  to  do  so.  On  the 
other  hand  they  motioned  to  him  to  go  ashore.  Span- 
berg thought  there  was  some  treachery  on  foot  and 
sailed  away.441  Following  the  coast  in  a  southerly  di- 
rection the  boat  came  to  anchor  again  on  the  22d,  in  lat- 
itude thirty-seven  degrees,  thirty  minutes.442  The  people 

438  Muller,  Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,  vol.  iii,  168,   169. 

439  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix. 

440  Muller,  op.  cit.,  vol.  iii,  168,  169. 

441  _  ibM, 

442  —  Ibid.  Muller  [op.  cit.,  169]  gives  the  location  as  thirty-eight  de- 
grees, twenty-five  minutes. 


224  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

from  shore  looked  on  the  newcomers  with  suspicion  at 
first,  but  gradually  they  became  more  friendly  and  en- 
tered into  trade  relations.  Two  junks  came  to  the  ship 
bringing  gold  coins,  rice,  tobacco,  fresh  fish,  and  other 
articles  of  trade,  taking  in  return  objects  offered  by  the 
Russians.443  A  day  or  two  later  there  came  on  board 
four  important  Japanese  officers.  They  made  their 
salutations  in  the  most  gracious  manner  and  they  re- 
mained on  their  knees  so  long  that  Spanberg  had  to  re- 
quest them  to  rise.  They  were  treated  with  brandy  and 
Russian  dishes,  both  of  which  they  seemed  to  enjoy. 
Spanberg  laid  before  them  a  chart  of  these  regions  and 
the  visitors  identified  a  number  of  places  and  referred 
to  the  island  on  which  they  lived  as  Nippon.  All  this 
evidence  convinced  Spanberg  that  he  had  accomplished 
the  principal  part  of  his  mission -to  determine  the  sit- 
uation of  Japan- and  he  was  ready  to  return.444  The 
stay  on  the  whole  was  short,  because  seeing  himself  sur- 
rounded by  nearly  a  thousand  islanders  and  fearing  a 
misunderstanding  might  arise,  Spanberg  did  not  think 
it  wise  to  remain  long. 

From  this  point  the  Archangel  sailed  a  northeasterly 
course,  discovering,  naming,  and  making  landings  on  a 
number  of  the  Kuril  Islands.  On  one  of  these  islands 
there  was  a  village,  eight  of  the  inhabitants  of  which 
were  brought  on  board.  From  the  description  given 
of  them  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  they  were  the 
hairy  Ainos.  In  these  waters  Spanberg  navigated  un- 
til July  25  and  then  headed  the  boat  for  Kamchatka  on 
account  of  illness  on  board.  A  short  stay  was  made  at 
the  first  Kuril  Island  and  from  there  they  went  on  to 
Bolshaya  River  where  they  arrived  on  August  15.    Five 

443  Muller,  op.  cit.,  vol.  Hi,  169-173. 
Hi  — Ibid. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  225 

days  later  the  boat  sailed  away  for  Okhotsk  and  an- 
chored there  on  the  twenty-ninth.  During  the  voyage 
thirteen  men  died. 

Walton,  when  he  found  himself  alone,  sailed  away 
on  his  own  responsibility  on  west  and  southwest  courses. 
He  sighted  Nippon  on  June  16,  in  latitude  thirty-seven 
degrees,  forty-two  minutes;445  and  coasted  in  sight  of 
its  shore.  On  the  seventeenth  he  fell  in  with  a  Japanese 
ship  and  by  following  her  he  came  to  a  large  city  situ- 
ated in  thirty-four  degrees,  sixteen  minutes.446  The  in- 
habitants of  this  part  of  Japan  had  had  trade  relations 
with  Europeans  and  were  therefore  more  at  ease  in 
their  presence  than  those  farther  north  whom  Spanberg 
had  met.  At  the  invitation  of  the  natives  Walton  sent 
Kasimerof  and  seven  others  in  the  ship's  boat  to  shore 
to  fetch  fresh  water.  They  were  met  on  the  way  by  a 
great  many  small  boats  and  a  large  crowd  of  people 
welcomed  them  to  shore.  The  two  empty  casks  were 
taken  in  charge  by  the  Japanese  who  filled  them  with 
water.  Kasimerof  was  invited  into  one  of  the  houses 
in  the  city  where  wine  and  sweets  were  placed  before 
him.  After  walking  about  and  examining  the  city 
awhile  longer  Kasimerof  started  back  for  the  ship.  He 
was  followed  by  a  hundred  Japanese  boats,  in  one  of 
which  was  a  man  of  some  distinction.  He  came  on 
board  and  exchanged  presents  and  drinks  with  Walton. 
Elsewhere  on  the  boat  a  brisk  trade  was  going  on  be- 
tween the  Japanese  and  the  Russian  sailors.  The  num- 
ber of  Japanese  about  the  ship  became  so  large  that 

445  There  is  a  great  confusion  in  the  original  charts  and  journals  and  it  is 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  determine  with  accuracy  the  places  in  question. 
Muller  [op.  cit.,  175-176]  says  that  Walton  came  in  view  of  Nippon  in  lati- 
tude thirty-eight  degrees,  seventeen  minutes,  and  that  he  came  to  anchor  be- 
fore a  city  situated  in  thirty-three  degrees,  fory-eight  minutes. 

446  Muller,  op.  cit.,  vol.  Hi,  169-173. 


226  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Walton,  fearing  trouble,  pulled  up  the  anchor  and  went 
out  to  sea  as  soon  as  the  Japanese  officer  departed. 
Stops  were  made  for  the  purpose  of  taking  on  fresh 
water  and  making  observations  of  the  country  and  the 
people,  of  which  interesting  descriptions  are  given. 
When  in  latitude  thirty-three  degrees,  twenty-eight 
minutes  the  Gabriel  turned  back  and  reached  Bolshaya 
River  July  23.  Three  days  later  the  Bolsheretzk  ap- 
peared, and,  accompanied  by  the  Gabriel,  the  two  boats 
sailed  away  August  7,  making  Okhotsk  on  the  twenty- 
second.  The  Nadezhda  experienced  many  hardships 
after  leaving  the  flag-ship  (July  31),  especially  in  try- 
ing to  get  to  Okhotsk.  Twice  she  came  in  sight  of  the 
desired  haven  but  was  driven  back  each  time  by  a  storm, 
compelling  her  finally  to  give  up  and  return  to  Bol- 
shaya River  for  the  winter. 

Spanberg  reported  to  Bering  the  results  of  his  voyage 
and  said,  among  other  things,  that  if  his  boats  had  kept 
together  he  would  have  asked  the  nearer  Kuril  Islands 
to  come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Russian  Empire, 
and  that  all  the  islands  from  the  forty-third  degree  of 
latitude  could  without  much  danger  be  brought  under 
subjection.  For  this  purpose  he  asked  to  be  put  in 
charge  of  another  expedition.  This  Bering  would  not 
grant,  because  the  time  allowed  Spanberg  for  this  kind 
of  work  had  expired.  After  a  consultation  with  the 
officers,  it  was  decided  to  let  Spanberg  go  to  the  cap- 
ital, where  announcements  of  his  voyage  had  already 
been  sent.  Spanberg,  taking  his  papers  with  him,447 
set  out,  and  when  he  had  come  as  far  as  Jakutsk  he 
found  instructions  from  the  Admiralty  College  not  to 
come  any  nearer.     In  April  he  received  another  mes- 

447  Delisle  Manuscripts.  It  is  not  clear  whether  the  papers  were  sent 
ahead  or  were  left  behind  for  him  to  take. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  227 

sage,  from  the  Imperial  Cabinet  this  time,  telling  him 
to  come  with  all  speed.  He  had  gone  but  a  short  dis- 
tance when  he  was  stopped  by  an  order  of  April  15, 
commanding  him  to  go  back  and  do  the  work  over 
again.448 

Bering  was  about  ready  to  leave  for  Kamchatka,  with 

448  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix,  363-365.  Span- 
berg  and  Walton  were  on  bad  terms  with  each  other  and  with  their  officers. 
Spanberg  complained  that  Petrof,  his  pilot,  was  a  drunkard.  Petrof  said  that 
Spanberg  made  him  change  the  journal  and  cursed  him  in  German  and  Rus- 
sian and  threatened  to  hang  him.  Walton  said  that  Kasimerof,  one  of  his 
officers,  was  disobedient,  would  not  stand  his  watch,  nor  keep  the  journal. 
Kasimerof  charged  that  Walton  beat  him.  Walton  and  the  priest  accused 
Spanberg  of  mistreating  them.  The  crews  swore  than  Spanberg  and  Walton 
abused  them.  Pizaref,  who  was  not  friend  of  Spanberg's,  wrote  a  letter  to 
the  Senate  saying  that  it  was  in  Korea  and  not  Japan  that  Spanberg  had  been, 
because  according  to  a  Japanese  map  found  at  Okhotsk,  Japan  is  just  south  of 
Kamchatka  and  not  fifteen  degrees  removed  where  Spanberg  placed  it.  Ber- 
ing examined  Spanberg's  log  book,  finding  there  many  errors,  and  Spanberg 
detected  in  Walton's  enough  faults  to  fill  a  sixteen  page  note  book.  Having 
before  it  all  these  charges,  inaccurate  log  books,  and  contradictory  evidences, 
the  Admiralty  College  did  not  know  whom  to  believe,  and  it,  therefore,  de- 
cided to  have  Spanberg  do  the  work  over  again  in  a  more  thorough  manner. 

In  1741,  the  Admiralty  College  took  all  the  documents  relating  to  Span- 
berg's expedition  and  placed  them  in  the  hands  of  Professor  Shishkof  of  the 
Naval  Academy.  He  examined  and  compared  them,  and  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  although  according  to  the  map  and  statements  of  Pizaref,  Span- 
berg could  not  have  been  in  Japan,  yet  since  Kirilof's  and  Delisle's  maps  place 
Japan  southwest  of  Kamchatka,  and  since  Spanberg  sailed  on  that  course,  it 
is  quite  probable  that  he  was  in  Japan.  In  the  meantime  more  documents 
came  in,  and  to  examine  these  the  Admiralty  College  appointed  a  commission 
consisting  of  Captains  Laptef  and  Nagaef  and  Professors  Shishkof  and  Biltsof, 
to  see  what  it  could  make  out  of  the  material.  This  body  was  in  session 
until  1746  and  made  this  report:  "Without  any  doubt  it  is  clear  that  Captain 
Walton,  judging  from  all  circumstances,  was  really  on  the  eastern  coast  of 
Japan  and  not  in  Korea.  .  .  As  to  the  voyage  of  Captain  Spanberg,  judg- 
ing from  his  journal,  it  could  hardly  be  believed  that  he  was  on  the  northern 
coast  of  Japan.  .  .  But  since  he  was  with  the  other  boats  from  May  23, 
when  they  left  Bolsheretzk,  up  to  June  15,  and  since  he  noted  down  in  his 
journal  the  appearance  of  the  Japanese  coast  and  other  happenings  which  he 
observed ;  therefore  it  is  possible  that  Spanberg  was  in  Japan  and  on  his  re- 
turn among  the  Japanese  islands.  .  .  But  to  attempt  from  his  journal  to 
put  his  voyage  on  a  chart  and  to  locate  correctly  the  islands  he  saw  on  the 
way  and  some  of  the  Japanese  islands  is  quite  impossible,  not  only  for  an 
outsider,  but  for  Spanberg  himself." 


228  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

all  the  provisions  on  hand,  when  Spanberg  returned  to 
Okhotsk,  in  the  summer  of  1740.  This  made  it  neces- 
sary for  Spanberg  to  go  to  Jakutsk  for  other  supplies, 
and  it  was  June,  1741,  before  he  came  back  with  a  part 
of  them,  the  remainder  arriving  in  September.  A  new 
boat,  the  St.  John  (seventy  by  eighteen  by  six  and  one- 
fourth  feet),  was  constructed  to  take  the  place  of  the 
St.  Gabriel.449  As  it  was  too  late  to  enter  on  the  voyage 
that  year,  Spanberg  went  only  as  far  as  Bolsheretzk, 
where  he  wintered.  Before  leaving  Okhotsk  he  de- 
spatched the  Nadezhda  in  charge  of  Shelting,  assisted 
by  Gwosdef,  the  same  who  sighted  America  in  1732,  to 
chart  the  western  coast  of  Okhotsk  to  the  Amur.  With 
fair  winds  the  Nadezhda  came  to  the  Shantar  Islands 
and  later  to  the  Ouda  River,  which  Shelting  reported 
was  unfit  for  settlement  on  account  of  the  sterility  of 
the  soil  and  the  lack  of  building  material.  From  the 
twenty-second  to  the  twenty-eighth,  the  boat  cruised 
among  the  Shantar  Islands  and  then,  owing  to  a  leak, 
headed  for  Bolshaya  River,  anchoring  October  9. 

On  May  23,  1742,  Spanberg  took  his  fleet  out  to  sea. 
The  St.  John  was  made  the  flag-ship  with  seventy-eight 
persons  on  board,  having,  in  addition  to  the  regular 
crew,  a  son  of  Spanberg,  a  youth  of  about  twenty,  two 
students  from  the  St.  Petersburg  Academy  to  act  as 
Japanese  interpreters,450  a  son  of  Prince  Dolgoruki,  a 
priest,  and  a  surgeon.  The  Archangel  Michael  was 
commanded  by  Shelting  and  had  forty  people  on  her; 
the  Nadezhda,  captained  by  Ptishzef,  had  thirty-three; 

449  From  this  time  on  no  more  is  heard  of  the  St.  Gabriel.  She  was  prob- 
ably one  of  the  two  freight  boats  Bering  took  along  with  him  to  Kamchatka ; 
but  what  became  of  her  after  that  trip  is  not  known. 

450  They  had  learned  the  Japanese  language  from  two  Japanese  who  had 
been  shipwrecked  in  Kamchatka  years  before  and  were  sent  to  St.  Petersburg. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  229 

and  the  Bolsheretzk  thirteen,  including  Boatswain  Ka- 
sin,  who  was  in  charge.451 

After  leaving  Kamchatka  a  stop  was  made  on  the 
first  Kuril  island,  where  an  interpreter  was  taken  on 
board  and  two  natives  baptized.  From  this  island  the 
boats  sailed  May  30,  heading  southwesterly,  and  run- 
ning into  a  great  deal  of  fog.  The  weather  cleared  up 
on  June  4,  giving  Spanberg  an  opportunity  to  deter- 
mine his  position,  which  was  latitude  forty-seven  de- 
grees, and  to  notice  that  two  of  his  boats  were  out  of 
sight.  Eight  days  later  the  Bolsheretzk  also  disap- 
peared from  view.  The  St.  John  continued  alone  un- 
til June  22,  being  at  the  time  in  latitude  forty-one  de- 
grees, fifteen  minutes  and  near  Japan.  The  weather 
seems  to  have  been  fair  and  the  very  best  time  of  the 
year  for  navigating  in  these  waters,  and  yet  for  some 
inexplainable  reason,  Spanberg  called  a  council  to  de- 
cide whether  they  should  go  back.  Most  of  the  officers 
were  only  too  glad  to  return,  because,  they  said,  the 
season  was  already  far  advanced,  that  it  was  not  safe 
for  one  boat  to  sail  alone  in  these  waters,  that  a  number 
of  the  crew  were  ill,  and  that  as  until  now  the  winds 
had  been  contrary  they  were  likely  to  be  so  on  the  home- 
ward voyage.  There  were  those  on  board  of  the  opin- 
ion that  they  should  sail  on  until  July  10,  which  shows 
that  the  condition  of  the  boat  was  not  dangerous.  It 
was  finally  compromised  to  go  on  until  July  6.  This 
agreement  was  never  carried  out,  for  on  June  30,  in  lat- 
itude thirty-nine  degrees,  thirty-five  minutes,  the  St. 
John,  which  had  been  rather  hastily  constructed  of  un- 
seasoned timber,  sprang  a  leak.     Under  the  circum- 

451  Walton  did  not  take  part  in  this  voyage.  He  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  captain  and  requested  to  come  to  the  capital,  but  he  died  on  the  way 
in  1742. 


230  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

stances  the  course  was  set  for  the  first  Kuril  island, 
which  was  reached  without  much  difficulty,  and  here 
the  three  other  boats  were  found  at  anchor. 

Shelting  was  once  more  shifted  to  the  Nadezhda  and 
with  a  pilot  and  geodist  was  ordered  to  chart  the  coast 
from  Ouda  to  the  Amur.  Sailing  away  July  24,  he 
made  on  August  1  the  eastern  shore  of  Sakhalin  Island, 
in  latitude  fifty  degrees,  ten  minutes,  and  coasted  along- 
side of  it  to  what  is  known  as  Laperouse  Strait.  Owing 
to  the  heavy  fogs  about  the  island,  he  was  prevented 
from  making  an  observation,  and  on  account  of  the  head 
winds  he  was  unable  to  proceed.  So  he  concluded  to 
go  to  Okhotsk,  which  place  he  reached  September  10 
and  joined  the  remainder  of  Spanberg's  squadron,  that 
had  made  this  port  August  26,  after  having  been  at 
Bolshaya  River. 

This  brought  to  an  end  Spanberg's  third  and  last 
voyage  to  Japan.  It  seems  that  even  for  that  period, 
and  notwithstanding  his  handicaps,  the  task  assigned 
him  should  have  been  accomplished  in  one  year.  The 
blame  for  the  failure  others  besides  Spanberg  should 
share.  It  was  difficult  to  obtain  results  from  a  crew 
made  up  of  different  nationalities  and  landsmen  who 
knew  that  their  chief  did  not  have  the  full  confidence 
of  his  superiors.  Neither  the  officers  nor  the  men  had 
their  souls  completely  in  their  work;  their  main  object 
was  to  go  through  the  performance  and  hurry  home. 
This  was  especially  true  of  the  last  voyage.  Another 
trouble  was  that  all  concerned  in  the  undertaking 
were  physically  and  mentally  worn  out,  easily  of- 
fended, and  given  to  quarreling.  The  third  attempt 
of  Spanberg's  was  as  useless  as  it  was  fruitless;  and  for 
this  were  to  blame  the  officers  of  the  capital,  who  pre- 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  231 

ferred  to  follow  dead  maps  rather  than  Spanberg's  live 
account. 

Looked  at  from  the  point  of  view  of  geographical 
knowledge  acquired,  these  three  voyages  were  very 
valuable.  In  spite  of  the  harsh  report  of  the  commis- 
sion on  Spanberg's  voyage,  D'Anville,  Buache,  and 
Bellin  constructed  their  maps  out  of  the  charts  and 
journals  which  were  so  severely  condemned.  Span- 
berg's voyages  pointed  out  a  new  way  to  Japan,  they 
gave  some  idea  of  the  northern  part  of  the  Japanese 
possessions,  they  demonstrated,  by  crossing  several 
times  the  parallel  of  Gama  Land,  that  such  land  did  not 
exist,  and  they  proved  that  State  Island  and  Company 
Land  were  two  of  the  Kuril  Islands,  that  Jeso  is  a  com- 
paratively small  island  and  not  a  continent,  and  that 
Japan  is  not  a  peninsula  of  Tartary,  as  Guillaume  De- 
lisle  would  have  it  believed. 

ARCTIC  VOYAGES  452 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  Bering's  proposi- 
tion as  to  the  charting  of  the  coast  of  northern  Siberia 
from  the  Ob  to  the  Lena  was  accepted  but  changed  so 
as  to  take  in  the  region  from  the  Lena  to  the  Anaduir, 
in  order  to  prove  beyond  a  doubt  that  America  and  Asia 
were  or  were  not  united.  Owing  to  the  vast  territory 
to  be  covered,  it  was  found  advisable  to  divide  the  work 
among  five  sections :  (1)  Archangel  to  the  Ob ;  (2)  Ob 
to  the  Yenisei ;  (3)  Yenisei  to  Cape  Taimur;  (4)  Lena 
westward  to  Cape  Taimur;  (5)  Lena  eastward  to  the 
Anaduir. 

Two  years'  time  was  allowed  to  each  section  in  which 

452  This  account  is  based  chiefly  on  the  papers  found  in  Zapiski  Hydro- 
graficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix,  and  the  Delisle  Manuscripts. 


232  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

to  do  its  work;  if  at  the  end  of  the  stipulated  period  the 
work  was  not  done,  the  chief  officer  of  that  section  was 
to  report  at  St.  Petersburg  for  further  orders.  From 
the  beginning,  the  section  having  for  its  task  the  ex- 
ploration of  the  coast  from  Archangel  to  the  Ob  was 
taken  care  of  by  the  Admiralty  College.  The  other 
four  sections  were  nominally  under  Bering's  supervi- 
sion. But,  as  he  moved  gradually  eastward,  these,  too, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Admiralty  College.  Bering's 
responsibilities,  so  far  as  these  Arctic  voyages  are  con- 
cerned, were  not  burdensome,  and  they  had  little  to  do 
in  delaying  his  own  voyage. 

i.     Archangel  to  the  Ob 

For  this  work  were  built  two  strong,  decked  boats 
(seventy  by  twenty-one  by  eight  feet),  such  as  are  used 
in  these  regions  and  are  known  as  kotshi,  and  they  were 
named  Expedition  and  Ob.  Lieutenants  Muravyof 
and  Pavlof  were  chosen  as  commanders,  assisted  by 
pilots,  under-pilots,  surgeons,  priests  and  mineralogists. 
Without  counting  guides,  interpreters,  and  others  not 
directly  connected  with  navigation,  the  two  boats  had  a 
combined  crew  of  fifty-one  men.  A  herd  of  reindeer 
was  ordered  to  be  sent  to  Pustosersk  in  case  the  men 
should  winter  there. 

On  July  4,  1734,  the  two  kotshi  made  a  start,  passing 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Dwina  six  days  later,  and  drop- 
ping anchor  in  Yugor  Strait  on  the  twenty-fifth.  The 
Kara  Sea  being  free  of  ice  it  became  possible  to  reach 
a  point  near  the  Yamal,  or  Samoyede  Peninsula,  by  the 
end  of  the  month.  After  a  short  stop  to  take  on  drift 
wood  and  fresh  water,  the  boats  sailed  away  on  a  north- 
erly course,  keeping  close  to  the  land.  From  August 
3  to  8,  in  latitude  seventy  degrees,  the  vessels  were  de- 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  233 

tained  by  headwinds  and  ice,  and  other  troubles  de- 
layed them  another  week.  They  finally  got  clear  and 
by  August  18  sailed  as  far  as  seventy-two  degrees,  thir- 
ty-five minutes.  With  the  task  almost  finished,  the  of- 
ficers decided  to  turn  back  because  the  winds  were  con- 
trary, the  season  late,  and  because  they  said  they  "were 
not  far  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ob/'  By  September  4, 
the  Expedition  and  the  Ob  were  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Petchora,  where  a  little  later  they  were  hauled  up. 
From  here  the  crews  went  to  Pustorsersk  for  the  winter. 

The  next  attempt  to  reach  the  Ob  was  begun  on  June 
29,  1735.  On  account  of  the  great  amount  of  ice  in  the 
Kara  Sea  and  also  because  of  the  fog  which  separated 
them,  the  boats  suffered  more  than  the  preceding  year. 
Muravyof  put  back  when  he  had  come  to  seventy-three 
degrees,  four  minutes,  and  Pavlof  turned  from  seventy- 
three  degrees,  eleven  minutes.  Near  the  entrance  to 
the  Petchora,  the  kotshi  united  and  anchored  a  little 
distance  up  the  stream  on  September  9. 

As  the  two  years  allowed  for  the  work  had  been  used 
up,  Muravyof  asked  for  an  extension  of  time,  new  boats, 
lighthouses,  geodists,  etc.  All  these  were  granted  by 
the  Admiralty  College.  Owing,  however,  to  charges 
and  counter-charges  of  Muravyof  and  Pavlof  against 
each  other  and  their  subordinates,  also  on  account  of 
complaints  which  the  inhabitants  of  Pustosersk  filed 
against  the  head  officers,  they  were  removed  from  com- 
mand and  reduced  to  the  grade  of  sailors.  Lieutenant 
Malgin,  who  succeeded  to  the  command,  took  charge  of 
the  Expedition  on  May  25,  1736.  Before  he  got  clear 
out  to  sea  he  was  caught  in  the  ice  and  lost  the  boat  but 
saved  the  provisions.  He  repaired  the  Ob  and  sailed 
on  her  June  21  to  Dolgoi  Island  where  he  was  joined 
by  the  two  new  boats  which  had  been  built  for  his  ser- 


234  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

vice.  They  were  named  the  First  and  Second,  and 
were  about  the  same  size  as  their  predecessors,  except 
that  they  drew  less  water.  At  Yugor  Strait,  Malgin 
with  a  crew  of  twenty-six  went  on  board  the  First,  and 
on  the  Second  he  placed  Lieutenant  Sukarof  with 
twenty-four  men.  The  Ob  was  sent  back.  By  the  end 
of  the  summer  Malgin  had  come  near  the  seventieth 
degree,  and  there  he  hauled  up  his  boat  for  the  winter. 
Several  members  of  the  crew  went  to  Obdorsk  to  remain 
during  the  cold  weather. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1737  the  geodist  Selifontof 
was  sent  to  chart  White  [Beloi]  Island,  and  although 
he  made  satisfactory  progress,  he  was  nevertheless  un- 
able to  complete  it  for  lack  of  food  for  his  deer.  The 
summer  of  1737  was  exceptionally  favorable  for  Arctic 
exploration,  the  sea  being  unusually  free  from  ice,  and 
it  will  be  noticed  that  all  the  officers  who  were  success- 
ful, achieved  their  tasks  during  this  summer.  Malgin 
stood  out  to  sea  with  his  two  boats  on  July  6,  meeting  at 
first  with  ice  but  after  a  few  days  he  struck  an  open 
lead,  so  that  he  was  able  to  reach  the  northern  point  of 
the  peninsula  by  the  twenty-third.  Turning  from  here 
he  sailed  into  the  Ob  Bay  and  River  and  anchored  in 
front  of  Berezof  on  October  2,  and  from  there  went  to 
the  capital  to  report  his  success.  The  boats  were  sailed 
back  by  his  officers,  who  spent  two  years  in  the  effort. 

2.     Ob  to  Yenisei 

Lieutenant  Dimitri  Ovtzin  with  a  crew  of  fifty-six 
men  was  put  on  the  Tobol  (seventy  by  fifteen  by  seven 
feet),  which  was  provided  with  oars.  Ovtzin  left  To- 
bolsk May  14,  1734,  followed  by  several  barges  of  pro- 
visions. A  stop  was  made  at  Obdorsk  to  put  up  ware- 
houses and   prepare    for  the  winter   and  from  there 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  235 

Ovtzin  sailed  north,  coming  by  August  5  to  seventy  de- 
grees, four  minutes,  and  turned  back  (for  the  usual 
reasons)  to  Obdorsk.  During  the  fall,  Cossacks  were 
sent  to  procure  information  about  the  coast,  and  to  put 
up  lighthouses,  and  the  geodist  and  pilot  were  set  to 
work  charting  the  channel.  In  1735  Ovtzin  had  even 
less  success  than  in  1734,  for  he  did  not  go  beyond  sixty- 
eight  degrees,  forty  minutes,  turning  back  because 
thirty-seven,  or  about  three-fourths  of  the  crew  were 
down  with  scurvy.  From  Tobolsk  he  went  to  St.  Pe- 
tersburg, asking  for  better  boats,  officers,  and  surveyors. 
All  was  granted,  even  power  to  exceed  the  instructions, 
provided  the  work  was  done,  and  it  was  impressed  upon 
him  that  it  must  be  done. 

Not  waiting  for  the  completion  of  the  new  boat, 
Ovtzin  made  one  more  attempt  in  1736  in  the  old  one, 
but  when  he  came  only  as  far  as  seventy-two  degrees, 
forty  minutes  he  was  obliged,  because  of  the  ice,  to  re- 
trace his  course  to  Obdorsk.  The  winter  and  early 
spring  were  utilized  in  putting  up  lighthouses  and 
storehouses  along  the  banks  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yenisei. 
In  1737  Ovtzin  took  charge  of  the  newly  completed 
Ob-Postman  (seventy  by  seventeen  by  seven  and  one- 
half  feet) ,  and  the  command  of  the  Tobol  he  gave  to 
Koshelof,  who  had  thirty-five  men  under  him,  the  same 
number  as  his  chief.  On  June  29,  the  men  bade  fare- 
well to  their  Obdorsk  friends  and  started  down  the 
river,  taking  on  stores  as  they  advanced.  Slowly  they 
moved  along,  passing  the  seventy-fourth  parallel  by 
August  7.  After  a  few  days'  detention  by  head  winds, 
the  boats  got  under  way,  rounding  Cape  Matte-Sol 
(seventy- three  degrees,  fifteen  minutes),  and  thence  di- 
recting their  course  up  the  bay  and  River  Yenisei  to 
Turuchansk,  where  they  anchored  in  October.    When 


236  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

the  river  became  navigable  in  the  spring,  Ovtzin  took 
the  Tobol  to  Yeniseisk  and  from  there  went  to  St.  Pe- 
tersburg. Because  of  friendly  relations  with  the  exiled 
Prince  Dolgorouki,  Ovtzin  was  reduced  to  the  rank  of 
sailor  and  ordered  to  Okhotsk  to  join  Bering,  with 
whom  he  made  the  voyage  to  America.453 

3.     Yenisei  to  Cape  Taimur 

The  Ob-Postman  had  assigned  as  pilot  Minim,  who 
had  instructions  to  double  Taimur  Peninsula  and  to  sail 
to  Chatanga  Bay.  With  a  crew  of  twenty-seven  men  the 
pilot  sailed  away  from  his  winter  quarters  on  June  4, 
1738,  and  on  August  16,  in  latitude  seventy-three  de- 
grees, seven  minutes,  found  himself  completely  sur- 
rounded by  ice.  Failing  to  advance  he  gave  it  up  for 
the  present  and  sailed  back  to  Turuchansk  for  the  win- 
ter. His  efforts  of  1739,  owing  to  a  late  start,  were 
equally  ineffectual.  In  January,  1740,  Under-pilot 
Strelegof,  accompanied  by  dog  teams,  charted  the 
northeast  coast  of  the  Yenisei  to  seventy-five  degrees, 
twenty-six  minutes,  but  could  go  no  farther  on  account 
of  his  weak  eyes. 

Minim  entered  on  his  last  attempt  on  July  6,  1740, 
coming  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yenisei  on  August  3,  and, 

453  It  may  perhaps  be  of  interest,  although  somewhat  foreign  to  the  sub- 
ject, to  read  a  part  of  the  original  instructions  given  to  the  officers  in  whose 
charge  Prince  Dolgorouki  and  two  others  were  placed  to  be  taken  to  Kamchat- 
ka. The  prisoners  were  to  be  watched  with  all  care  "so  as  to  prevent  them 
from  escaping.  No  one  is  to  be  allowed  to  approach  them ;  ink  and  paper 
they  are  not  to  have  ...  no  one  is  to  talk  to  them,  not  even  you  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  guard.  Not  only  are  you  forbidden  to  talk  to  them,  but 
you  are  not  even  to  ask  their  names,  mention  them  to  no  one,  and  allow  no 
person  to  approach  them  for  that  purpose.  .  .  When  you  stop  overnight, 
have  separate  quarters  for  each  of  the  prisoners  and  allow  no  communication 
between  them.  In  Kamchatka  put  them  in  prison  where  there  are  no  other 
such  prisoners.  Let  their  names  not  be  heard  nor  be  seen  on  paper,"  etc.  - 
Russkaya  Starina,  1876,  vol.  xv,  449-50. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  237 

thanks  to  an  open  sea  and  fair  wind,  to  latitude  seventy- 
five  degrees  on  the  twentieth.  His  advance  from  now 
on  was  blocked  by  ice,  and,  in  spite  of  his  exertions, 
he  could  not  go  more  than  one-fourth  of  a  degree  be- 
yond his  last  record  (seventy-five  degrees). 

During  the  year  1741  Minim,  while  waiting  for  in- 
structions from  headquarters,  charted  the  River  Yenisei 
to  the  fort  Yeniseisk.  His  charts  and  journals  he  for- 
warded to  the  Admiralty  College  with  suggestions  for 
the  better  success  of  the  work.  That  body,  however, 
had  lost  confidence  in  him,  and  also  because  of  numer- 
ous charges  filed  against  him  by  his  subordinates  and 
others,  Minim  was,  in  the  year  1749  (for  the  case  had 
dragged  on  till  then),  reduced  for  two  years  to  the 
grade  of  sailor.  The  work  was  not  abandoned,  but 
placed  in  the  hands  of  C.  Laptef. 

4.     Lena  Westward  to  Cape  Taimur 

To  the  Jakutsk  (seventy  by  sixteen  by  six  and  one- 
half  feet),  in  charge  of  Lieutenant  Prochinchef  and 
fifty  men,  was  assigned  the  hard  task  of  doubling  the 
point  of  Taimur  Peninsula  and  reaching  the  Yenisei. 
Leaving  Jakutsk  June  30,  1735,  followed  by  barges  of 
provisions,  they  made  Stolb  Island  by  August  2  and 
turned  to  Bikovskoi  Cape.  On  the  twenty-fifth  the 
mouth  of  the  Olenek  was  sighted  and  selected  for  the 
winter  quarters  in  the  midst  of  a  small  village  of  about 
twelve  Russian  families  of  hunters  and  traders.  After 
September  20  the  river  was  closed  to  navigation,  and 
the  sun  was  not  seen  between  November  3  and  January 
22.  The  Jakutsk  was  able  to  get  free  of  the  ice  and  go 
under  sail  again  on  August  3,  1736,  making  satisfactory 
progress  for  several  days  and  passing  Anabara  River. 
Picking  her  way  among  the  icebergs,  she  came,  on  Aug- 


238  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

ust  13,  to  the  mouth  of  Chatanga  Bay  (seventy-four  de- 
grees, nine  minutes)  where  she  lay  to  in  order  to  send 
men  ashore.  They  found  a  hut,  food,  and  a  dog,  but 
no  human  beings.  From  this  place  the  Jakutsk  headed 
slowly  on  her  course,  steering  between  icebergs,  polar 
bears  and  walrus.  By  this  careful  and  strenuous  work 
the  men  had  the  satisfaction  of  finding  themselves  on 
August  19  in  latitude  seventy-seven  degrees,  twenty- 
nine  minutes,  but  unfortunately  not  able  to  go  beyond 
that.  Prochinchef,  who  was  very  ill,  called  his  of- 
ficers together  for  consultation,  and  they  decided  to  go 
to  the  Olenek,  which  place  they  reached,  after  a  great 
many  dangers  and  hardships,  on  September  2.  Pro- 
chinchef died  on  board  August  29  and  was  buried  on 
shore  September  6.  His  wife,  who  had  been  with  him 
all  through  this  adventure,  survived  him  but  a  few 
days,  and  was  buried  by  his  side.  The  command  of  the 
party  fell  now  to  the  pilot  Cheluskin,  and  he,  not  know- 
ing how  to  proceed  because  the  allotted  time  had  been 
used  up,  went  to  Jakutsk  to  consult  with  Bering,  who, 
unfortunately,  had  set  out  for  Okhotsk  before  the  pilot's 
arrival. 

These  numerous  failures,  instead  of  discouraging, 
merely  strengthened  the  Admiralty  College  in  its  de- 
termination to  succeed.  Tempting  offers,  and  prom- 
ises of  reward,  were  held  out  to  get  the  proper  men  to 
do  the  work  well.  The  newly  appointed  officers  were 
instructed  that  if  the  work  could  not  be  done  in  one 
year,  it  was  to  be  taken  up  the  year  following,  the  year 
following  that,  even  the  fourth  year  if  necessary. 
Should  it  seem  altogether  impossible  to  accomplish  the 
task  by  water,  then  an  officer  was  to  be  detailed  to  chart 
the  coast  from  the  River  Chatanga  to  the  Yenisei,  along 
the  shore  of  Taimur  Peninsula.     Chariton  Laptef  was 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  239 

selected  as  Prochinchef's  successor,  and  whatever  Lap- 
tef  asked  was  granted.  Salary  was  paid  in  advance,  all 
the  requisitions  were  supplied,  storehouses  were  erected 
on  the  Rivers  Anabara,  Chatange,  and  Taimur,  and 
men  were  sent  thither  to  catch  supplies  of  fish.  The 
boat  Jakutsk  was  brought  from  her  winter  quarters  to 
Jakutsk  and  put  in  proper  condition  for  the  voyage. 
In  fact  everything  that  could  possibly  contribute  to  the 
success  of  the  undertaking  was  done. 

Laptef,  officers,  and  crew  of  forty  men,  departed 
from  Jakutsk  on  June  9,  1739,  having  in  their  wake 
boats  with  provisions  to  be  left  in  the  warehouses  at  the 
Olenek.  The  struggle  with  the  ice  began  July  21  when 
the  Jakutsk  stood  out  to  sea.  Chatanga  Bay  was  reached 
August  6,  and  there  a  part  of  the  winter  provisions  were 
unloaded.  Eight  days  later  the  boat  went  on  from  here 
on  her  northern  course,  coming  August  21  to  Cape  St. 
Thaddeus,  seventy-six  degrees,  forty-seven  minutes,  but 
could  go  no  farther.  The  party  of  men  which  was  sent 
ashore,  to  put  up  lighthouses  and  find  a  suitable  place 
to  haul  up  the  boat  for  the  winter,  returned  discour- 
aged, having  been  unable  to  find  even  drift  wood.  It 
was  therefore  concluded  to  go  for  the  winter  to  Cha- 
tanga, where  quarters  were  waiting  for  them,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  River  Bludnoi  (seventy- two  degrees, 
fifty-six  minutes),  prepared  by  several  Russians  and  a 
small  number  of  Tungus  families. 

As  soon  as  the  days  began  to  lengthen,  the  crew  en- 
gaged actively  in  preparations  for  the  work  of  the  com- 
ing summer.  In  addition  to  the  work  of  providing 
food  supplies,  charting  parties,  made  up  of  Russians 
and  Tungus,  were  sent  out  on  their  dog  and  reindeer 
sleds  in  different  directions.  Finally,  on  July  12,  the 
Jakutsk  left  her  winter  home  to  begin  at  once  the  fight 


240  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

with  the  ice,  for  it  took  her  a  whole  month  to  reach  the 
sea.  During  the  morning  of  August  13,  in  latitude 
seventy-five  degrees,  thirty  minutes,  the  vessel  was 
seized  by  the  ice  and  carried  northward  until  stopped 
by  another  ice-floe.  A  leak  was  discovered,  and  the 
boat  filled  so  fast  that  by  next  morning  she  was  half  full 
of  water.  When  the  attempt  to  lighten  failed  to  pro- 
duce the  desired  result  hopes  of  saving  her  were  given 
up,  especially  as  the  ice  with  the  boat  started  to  drift 
in  an  east-southeast  direction.  All  hands  took  to  the 
ice  where  a  cold  and  sad  night  was  spent.  In  the  morn- 
ing the  shore  was  descried  about  fifteen  miles  away, 
and  towards  it  the  men  headed,  but  it  was  a  long  and 
painful  march,  not  coming  to  an  end  before  the  six- 
teenth. Fortunately  the  ice  remained  near  the  shore 
until  August  31,  giving  the  crew  an  opportunity  to 
save  the  greater  part  of  the  provisions.  Discouraged, 
suffering  from  cold  and  dampness,  the  men  sickened, 
lost  hope,  and  almost  prayed  that  death  would  come. 
Laptef  did  all  he  could  to  put  life  into  the  men,  and 
succeeded  in  leading  them  back  to  their  winter  quar- 
ters, where  several  died  soon  after  their  arrival. 

With  the  loss  of  the  Jakutsk  went  Laptef's  last  hope 
to  chart  the  coast  by  sea.  He  therefore  undertook  to  do 
it  by  land.  In  fact,  he  had  already  prepared  for  such 
an  emergency  by  having  storehouses  put  up  the  winter 
before.  He  divided  up  the  work  among  three  parties. 
Cheluskin,  the  pilot,  aided  by  two  soldiers  and  three 
dog-sledges,  left  the  camp  March  17  for  the  mouth  of 
the  Pjasina  River  with  the  intention  of  going  from 
there  to  the  mouth  of  the  Taimur.  The  geodist  Che- 
kin,  accompanied  by  soldiers,  a  Jakut  and  three  dog- 
teams,  set  out  April  22  with  instructions  to  round  North 
East  Cape,  and  to  continue  along  the  west  shore  to 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  241 

Taimur  River.  Laptef,  with  one  soldier,  one  Jakut 
and  two  dog-teams,  departed  April  24  for  the  mouth  of 
the  Taimur,  to  which  place  he  had  sent  twelve  dog- 
sledges  with  provisions,  three  weeks  before.  To  Tai- 
mur Bay  seven  loads  of  supplies  were  transported  in 
charge  of  one  of  the  officers,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
material  and  provisions  was  loaded  on  reindeer  sleds 
and  taken  to  the  Yenisei. 

When  in  latitude  seventy-six  degrees,  thirty-five  min- 
utes, Chekin  and  his  party  began  to  suffer  from  snow- 
blindness  and  gave  up.  Cheluskin  carried  out  his  in- 
structions, having  proceeded  along  the  shore  from  the 
Pjasina  towards  the  Taimur  until  he  met  Laptef  in  lat- 
itude seventy-five  degrees,  twenty-one  minutes.  The 
last  mentioned  started  from  the  Taimur,  marching  as 
fast  as  his  sore  eyes  would  permit  him,  until  June  21, 
the  day  he  fell  in  with  his  pilot.  The  two  returned  to 
Pjasina,  whence  the  whole  command  went  to  the  Yeni- 
sei and  wintered  at  Turuchansk. 

Owing  to  the  failure  of  Chekin  to  carry  out  his  part 
of  the  plan,  North  East  Cape  was  still  left  to  chart. 
Cheluskin  was  asked  to  do  this,  and  he  entered  on  the 
work  in  December,  1741.  He  reached  the  mouth  of 
the  Chatanga  at  the  end  of  February  and  Cape  St. 
Thaddeus  May  1.  At  this  point  he  began  taking  ob- 
servations along  the  coast  to  the  north;  and  on  May  7, 
he  stood  at  the  extreme  point  of  the  cape,  which  now 
bears  his  name  and  the  latitude  of  which  he  determined 
to  be  seventy-seven  degrees,  thirty-four  minutes.  On 
his  return  he  was  met  by  two  soldiers  with  provisions, 
followed  by  Laptef  himself.  The  whole  party  went  to 
Turnachansk  and  Yeniseisk,  where  Laptef  took  leave 
of  his  faithful  comrades  and  hastened  away  to  the  cap- 
ital to  report. 


242  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

5.     Lena  Eastward  to  the  Anaduir 

When  the  Jakutsk  sailed  from  Jakutsk,  she  had  as 
companion  boat  the  Irkutsk  (sixty  by  twenty  by  seven 
and  one-half  feet),  Lasinius  in  command  and  a  crew  of 
fifty  men.  Lasinius's  orders  were  to  sail  as  far  as  he 
could  eastward  and  to  the  Anaduir  if  possible.454  From 
the  Lena  Lasinius  put  out  to  sea  August  7,  1735,  on  a 
southeasterly  course,  and  four  days  later  he  encoun- 
tered so  much  ice  that  it  was  decided  to  look  for  winter 
quarters,  which  were  found  August  14,  on  the  River 
Chariulach  [Borkhaya  Bay].  There  were  at  this  place 
five  Jakut  huts,  but  the  men  preferred  to  build  their 
own.  The  new  construction  measured  seventy-seven 
feet  in  length,  twenty-one  in  width,  and  six  in  height. 
It  was  divided  into  four  compartments,  having  in  all 
three  ovens,  a  kitchen,  and  a  bath.  The  ovens,  not  be- 
ing made  of  clay,  gave  a  great  deal  of  trouble  and  very 
little  heat.  On  the  whole  it  would  seem  that  the  men 
were  very  comfortable,  in  fact,  too  comfortable  for 
their  own  good,  and  were  little  inclined  to  move  about. 
As  a  result  of  this  and  on  account  of  other  reasons, 
scurvy  broke  out  among  them.  Lasinius  was  the  first 
victim,  on  December  19,  followed  by  thirty-five  others. 
By  spring  only  nine  men  were  reported  alive.  The  six 
missing  were  probably  at  Jakutsk,  for  in  November  one 
man  was  arrested  and  sent  thither  under  guard. 

When  Bering,  who  was  at  Jakutsk,  heard  of  the  state 
of  health  in  the  camp  of  Lasinius,  he  immediately  de- 
spatched help.  In  the  spring  Dimitri  Laptef  with  a 
crew  of  forty-three  men  was  ordered  to  take  three  flat 

454  One  of  the  striking  things  in  these  Arctic  explorations  was  the  bad  feel- 
ing which  developed  among  the  men  in  a  very  short  time.  When  Prochinchef 
and  Lasinius  left  Jakutsk  they  were  the  best  of  friends,  but  by  the  time  they 
came  to  the  mouth  of  the  Lena  they  would  not  speak  to  each  other  nor  anchor 
their  boats  alongside. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  243 


boats  with  provisions  and  to  go  where  the  Irkutsk  was 
laid  up  and  take  up  the  work  where  Lasinius  left  off. 
The  new  leader  landed  a  part  of  his  force  and  his  sup- 
plies on  Bikovskoi  Cape  on  June  25,  1736.  With  the 
remaining  men,  he  went  to  where  the  Irkutsk  was 
hauled  up  to  put  her  in  condition  for  the  sea.  He  final- 
ly got  her  under  sail,  but  made  very  little  progress  be- 
cause of  the  shallow  water  and  the  ice.  On  August  13 
the  position  of  Cape  Borkhaya  was  determined  as 
seventy-three  degrees,  sixteen  minutes.  Unable  to  ad- 
vance the  Irkutsk  sailed  back  to  the  Lena  to  look  for 
a  warm  spot  during  the  cold  weather,  and  wintered  at 
a  place  in  latitude  seventy  degrees,  forty  minutes. 

A  delicate  question  came  up  for  settlement.  The  time 
limit  for  the  work  was  two  years,  but  Laptef  did  not 
know  whether  the  year  of  Lasinius  counted  or  not. 
Bering  himself  was  in  doubt  on  this  point,  for  Muller 
says  that  he  consulted  the  scientists  on  this  matter,  but 
came  to  no  decision.455  Not  knowing  what  to  do,  Lap- 
tef went  to  Jakutsk  to  see  Bering  in  person,  but  the  lat- 
ter had  already  gone  to  Okhotsk  without  leaving  in- 
structions. Laptef  therefore  concluded  to  go  to  St. 
Petersburg,  but  before  reaching  there  he  received  word 
from  the  Admiralty  College  telling  him  to  go  back  and 
continue  the  work.  As  he  was  at  the  time  not  far  from 
the  capital,  he  went  on.  This  was  unfortunate.  By 
so  doing  he  missed  the  season  of  1737,  which  was,  as  has 
been  pointed  out,  an  unusually  favorable  one  for  ex- 
ploration. 

The  Admiralty  College  told  Laptef  that  the  task  as- 
signed him  must  be  done ;  if  not  in  one  year,  then  in  two 
or  three.  Time  and  money  were  not  to  be  considered. 
Should  it  seem  utterly  impossible  to  do  the  work  by 

455  Muller,  Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,   vol.   iii,   155. 


244  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

water,  it  should  be  finished  by  land  up  to  the  River 
Koluima,  and  Sviatoi  Nos  was  to  be  charted  by  all 
means.  As  Laptef  represented  that  it  might  not  be 
possible  to  continue  the  exploration  east  of  the  Koluima 
on  account  of  the  warlike  Chukchi,  he  was  told  to  pro- 
ceed from  the  Koluima  overland  to  the  Anaduir  and 
there  await  a  boat  which  Bering  would  send  him  from 
Kamchatka,  and  with  this  boat  he  was  to  attempt  round- 
ing Chukotski  Nos  and  sail  from  there  to  the  Koluima. 
In  order  not  to  be  hindered  by  too  rigid  instructions, 
he  was  allowed  to  break  them  whenever  the  good  of  the 
cause  demanded.  Thus  encouraged  Laptef  turned 
back  to  Jakutsk,  taking  with  him  officers  and  instru- 
ments, and  on  the  way  he  gathered  supplies  and  money 
for  two  years. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1739  there  were  sent  from 
Jakutsk  the  sailor  Loshkin  and  a  small  party,  to  chart 
the  coast  from  the  River  Yana  to  Sviatoi  Nos,  and  on  his 
return  from  the  Yana  to  the  Lena,  Kindyakof,  the  geo- 
dist,  was  instructed  to  begin  at  the  head  of  the  River 
Indigirka  and  survey  it  to  its  mouth.  Laptef  reached 
Jakutsk  in  May,  just  as  the  river  opened  to  navigation, 
and  very  soon  afterwards  he  sailed  down  the  Lena  with 
a  large  force  of  men.  He  made  the  mouth  of  the 
stream  on  July  5,  but  was  detained  by  the  ice  a  short 
time,  so  that  he  did  not  come  to  Borkhaya  Cape  before 
August  4,  and  during  the  succeeding  week  he  nearly 
lost  his  vessel  in  a  successful  attempt  to  reach  the  mouth 
of  the  Yana.  On  August  14  he  passed  and  ascertained 
the  position  of  Sviatoi  Nos,  seventy-two  degrees,  fifty 
minutes.  For  four  days  the  weather  was  favorable  for 
advancing,  but  on  the  eighteenth  a  bitter  cold  wind  be- 
gan to  blow,  crowding  the  ice  about  the  ship.  When 
in  front  of  the  Indigirka  on  August  22,  Laptef  sent  two 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  245 

men  in  a  small  boat  to  examine  the  shores,  and  for  six 
days  he  waited  in  vain  for  their  return  and  finally  was 
obliged  to  sail  away  without  them.  On  the  twenty- 
eighth  the  Irkutsk,  being  in  the  neighborhood  of  fresh 
water,  two  small  canvass  boats  (frames  made  of  barrel 
staves)  were  ordered  ashore.  One  failed  to  come  back, 
and  the  other  did  not  succeed  in  landing.  Each  day  the 
cold  became  more  intense,  and  the  company  watched 
with  sadness  the  freezing  in  of  their  boat.  On  Septem- 
ber 5,  a  fifteen-hour  southwest  blow  set  in,  taking  the 
ship  and  ice  forty  versts  from  shore.  It  was  followed 
by  a  north  wind,  which,  although  it  spent  itself  in  a 
short  time,  made  the  approach  to  the  shore  possible. 
Another  ship's  boat  was  despatched  to  shore  to  make  a 
landing,  and  on  her  return  brought  back  the  men  lost 
a  few  days  before,  and  the  joyful  tidings  that  the  mouth 
of  the  Indigirka  was  close  at  hand.  The  rescued  sailors 
said  that  they  had  been  wrecked  on  landing,  and  that 
since  then  they  had  suffered  the  pangs  of  cold,  cramp, 
and  hunger,  their  only  food  being  grass  and  such  foxes 
as  came  in  their  way.  Happily  for  them  Kindyakof 
had  completed  his  survey  of  the  Indigirka  to  the  mouth 
and  found  them.  The  geodist,  perceiving  at  a  glance 
the  critical  position  of  the  Irkutsk  and  the  men,  hurried 
away  to  a  settlement  to  bring  help,  leaving  directions 
for  entering  the  stream  should  the  ship  escape  the  ice. 
The  Irkutsk  had  in  the  meantime  come  within  ten  miles 
of  land,  and  Laptef  gave  orders  that  her  cargo  should 
be  unloaded  and  taken  ashore.  By  the  fifteenth  the 
severe  weather  was  over,  and  it  became  almost  pleas- 
ant, so  that  within  a  week  most  of  the  needed  stores  had 
been  landed.  By  this  time  Kindyakof  had  returned 
from  the  settlement  (about  a  hundred  miles  away)  and 
took  the  whole  company  back  with  him  for  the  winter. 


246  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Before  giving  themselves  the  pleasure  of  a  much 
needed  rest,  Loshkin  examined  the  coast  to  the  River 
Lazeya,  and  Cherbinin  with  Kindyakof  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  mouth  of  the  Indigirka.  In  the  early 
spring  Kindyakof  surveyed  the  coast  from  the  Lazeya 
to  the  Koluima,  while  Laptef  mapped  the  Khroma. 
During  the  winter  Laptef,  after  talking  the  matter  over 
with  the  Siberians  among  whom  he  lived,  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  plan  of  the  Admiralty  College  to 
sail  from  the  Anaduir  to  the  Koluima  was  not  feasible 
because  (i)  the  warlike  Chukchi  would  not  help,  (2) 
the  time  for  navigation  was  short,  and  (3)  because  of 
the  uncertainty  of  securing  a  boat  from  Kamchatka, 
since  the  whereabouts  of  Bering  was  unknown.  With 
the  above  noted  arguments,  Loshkin  went  to  St.  Peters- 
burg. Laptef's  answer  from  the  Admiralty  College 
was,  that  although  he  could  not  be  expected  to  live  up 
strictly  to  his  instructions,  it  was  hoped  that  Chukotski 
Nos  would  be  circumnavigated;  but  if  this  were  im- 
possible, the  shores  should  be  surveyed  by  land  marches. 

In  June,  1740,  the  regular  force,  aided  by  a  party  of 
eighty-five  natives,  was  put  to  work  freeing  the  vessel 
from  the  ice,  but  she  was  in  such  bad  shape  that  she  had 
to  be  taken  to  pieces  and  patched.  On  July  29  Laptef 
made  a  start  and  two  days  later  reached  the  sea.  The 
mouth  of  the  Lazeya  was  passed  on  the  first  day  of  Aug- 
ust. Anthony  Island  (one  of  the  Bear  Islands)  was 
charted  on  the  second  day,  the  mouth  of  the  Koluima 
was  reached  on  the  fourth  day,  and  a  report  was  sent  to 
Lower  Koluima.  On  August  8  the  struggle  with  the 
ice  was  recommenced,  and  after  six  days  of  fighting, 
Big  Baranof  Cape  was  mapped  on  the  fourteenth.  Fur- 
ther advance  was  hindered  by  the  ice,  and  Laptef 
turned  back  and  wintered  at  Lower  Koluima. 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  247 

In  the  autumn  Kindyakof  was  ordered  to  explore  the 
upper  Koluima,  and  Cherbinin  to  trace  the  road  from 
the  River  Angarka  to  the  Anaduir  and  there  prepare 
timber  for  building  a  boat  to  sail  down  that  stream. 
Arrangements  were  also  made  to  send  provisions  and 
cannon  by  the  River  Aniui,  to  be  transported  from 
there  on  deer  sleds  to  the  Anaduir.  Laptef  spent  his 
time  in  building  two  lodkas  (twenty- five  by  nine  by 
three  and  one-half  feet),  intending  to  double  Baranof 
Cape  in  them.  Taking  twelve  men  in  each  lodka,  he 
sailed  down  the  Koluima  on  June  29.  On  July  8  he 
came  to  the  mouth  of  the  river;  July  25  he  was  twenty- 
five  miles  east  of  the  river,  and  being  unable  to  advance, 
he  retraced  his  course  on  the  twenty-sixth.  After  mak- 
ing several  other  fruitless  efforts  Laptef,  by  August  4, 
was  so  discouraged  that  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  undertaking  was  beyond  human  powers  to  accom- 
plish, and,  therefore,  on  August  10,  1741,  he  went  into 
winter  quarters. 

Taking  forty-five  dog  teams,  Laptef  set  out  that  same 
fall  ( 1 74 1 )  on  his  march  to  the  Anaduir  fort,  by  way 
of  the  Great  Aniui  to  the  Amgorka,  and  from  there  on 
deer  teams  to  the  Anaduir  fort,  arriving  November  7. 
In  the  spring  he  built  two  large  row  boats,  and  in  com- 
pany with  four  other  boats  found  there,  he  went  down 
the  Anaduir,  taking  observations  as  he  went  along.  The 
reason  he  made  no  attempt  to  go  from  there  to  the 
Koluima  was  because  no  boat  had  been  sent  to  him  from 
Kamchatka  by  Bering,  whose  fate  was  unknown.  Lap- 
tef went  back  from  the  Anaduir  fort  to  the  Koluima 
and  thence  to  St.  Petersburg  by  the  way  of  Jakutsk. 

Although  very  little  in  the  line  of  actual  exploration 
and  discovery  was  undertaken  after  1742,  Bering's  sec- 
ond expedition  did  not  come  to  an  end,  officially,  until 


248  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

1749.  Beginning  with  the  time  when  Peter  the  Great 
signed  the  instructions  for  the  first  expedition,  twenty- 
five  years  had  been  spent  in  discovery  and  exploration 
in  the  northern  regions.  Many  points,  once  in  doubt, 
were  settled  by  these  voyages.  They  decided  that  a 
northeast  passage  was  impracticable,  that  Novaya  Zem- 
lya  is  not  a  peninsula,  that  the  Asiatic  coast  extends 
much  farther  east  than  was  supposed,  that  Terra  de 
Jeso,  Company  Land,  and  Gama  Land,  as  pictured  by 
the  cartographers,  did  not  exist,  that  Japan  is  an  island, 
and  that  the  American  coast  runs  in  a  northwesterly 
direction  from  Cape  Blanco.  In  short,  they  made  clear 
all  the  points  which,  Guillaume  Delisle  claimed,  were 
obscure  in  1720.  Sad  to  say,  the  one  question,  the  im- 
portant question,  the  raison  d'etre  of  these  voyages - 
whether  America  and  Asia  are  united -was  not  at  that 
time  answered  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.  It  is  true  that 
it  was  generally  believed  that  the  two  were  separate 
continents,  yet  when  the  doubter  demanded  scientific 
proof  none  could  be  given.  How  did  any  one  know 
that  the  two  were  not  united?  Had  any  one  ever  gone 
from  the  Koluima  to  the  Anaduir  by  water?  Was  it 
not  possible  that  between  the  Koluima  and  East  Cape 
the  Asiatic  continent  extended  northward,  joining  some- 
where with  the  American  continent?  Stories  of  hunters 
and  Chukchi  could  not  be  accepted  as  final.  Some  of 
these  questions  were  actually  raised.  Such  an  authority 
as  James  Burney,  the  well  known  writer  and  navigator, 
who  had  been  with  Cook  in  the  Bering  Strait,  read  a 
paper  before  a  scientific  body  of  London  in  which  he 
insisted  that  it  was  not  conclusively  proved  that  the  Old 
and  the  New  Worlds  were  two  distinct  continents.456 

456  Burney,   James.     Memoir   on  the   Geography  of  the  North-eastern   Part 
of  Asia    (London,   1818). 


BERING'S  SECOND  EXPEDITION  249 

But  outside  of  this,  and  one  minor  point,457  nearly  every- 
thing else  of  geographical  interest  which  was  under- 
taken was  successfully  carried  out. 

But  wThat  a  price  was  paid  for  this  knowledge!  Only 
a  few  of  those  who  enlisted  survived  the  years  of  hard 
labor,  privations,  cold,  and  suffering.  Even  those  who 
lived  to  return  to  the  scenes  of  their  childhood  were  so 
broken  in  health  that  the  joy  of  living  was  nearly  gone. 
The  exact  spot  where  the  ashes  of  Bering,  the  Dane,  lie 
is  not  known;  Steller,  the  German,  died  a  lonely  and 
pitiful  death  in  the  wilds  of  Siberia;  Walton,  the  Eng- 
lishman, fell  by  the  wayside  unnoticed  and  forgotten; 
and  rain  has  long  since  washed  away  all  traces  of  the 
grave  where  the  Frenchman  Delisle  de  la  Croyere  was 
laid  to  rest.  Chirikof,  the  Russian,  contracted  'a  dis- 
ease from  which  he  suffered  for  three  years  after  his  re- 
turn home  until  death  came  to  his  relief.  There  was 
also  the  great  army  of  minor  officers  and  privates  whose 
very  names  have  been  forgotten,  and  who  were  left 
where  they  fell.  The  least  we  can  do  in  appreciation 
of  their  efforts  is  to  pass  over  charitably  their  faults  and 
praise  their  virtues.  Some  day  a  monument  may  be 
erected  to  these  forgotten  pathfinders,  before  which  we 
may  outwardly  honor  their  memories  and  feel  inwardly 
inspired.458 

457  The  region  about  the  mouth  of  the  Amur  and  Sakhalin  Island  was 
left  unexplored. 

45s  Fr0rn  the  records  of  the  Marine  Department  [Opisanie  del  Archiva 
Morskavo  Ministerstva  and  Obsclri  Morskoi  Spisok~\  and  from  reliable  sec- 
ondary authorities,  it  has  been  possible  to  follow  the  career  of  several  of  the 
officers  to  the  end. 

When  Bering's  death  became  known  at  Kamchatka  his  private  property 
was  sold  at  auction  and  the  proceeds,  about  one  thousand  rubles,  were  sent 
to  his  family.  Whatever  wages  were  due  him  at  the  time  of  his  death  were 
also  paid  over  to  his  wife  and  children.  In  addition  the  Senate  voted  him  a 
reward  of  five  thousand   rubles. 

Spanberg  left  Siberia  in  1745  without  permission,   and  for  this  he  was  sen- 


250  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Before  closing  this  chapter  and  period  a  word  should 
be  said  in  praise  of  the  Admiralty  College,  the  life  and 
soul  of  all  this  work.  To  all  who  reported  failure  this 
body  had  but  one  answer,  "the  work  must  be  done." 
The  hardest  task  of  the  Admiralty  was  not  to  secure 
men  to  do  the  work,  but  to  enlist  the  right  kind  of  men 
and  to  defend  them  from  the  reactionaries  at  home  who 
raised  the  cry  that  all  these  expeditions  were  profitless 
and  a  waste  of  life  and  money.  The  men  in  the  field 
displayed  physical  courage,  their  superiors  at  home 
moral  courage.459 

tenced  to  suffer  capital  punishment.  But  the  Danish  government  and  friends 
interceded  for  him  and  he  was  pardoned.  Later  he  was  taken  back  into  ser- 
vice.    He  died  in  1761,  being  at  that  time  captain  of  the  first  rank. 

Chirikof  contracted  consumption  in  Siberia.  In  1746  he  was  transferred 
to  St.  Petersburg  and  was  presented  to  the  empress.  He  died  in  1748  holding 
the  rank  of  captain-commander. 

"Ober-shter-kriegs-komm'uar"  of  the  Fleet  Chariton  Laptef  died  in  1763. 

Dimitri  Laptef  was  retired  in  1762  on  half  pay  with  the  rank  of  Vice- 
Admiral. 

Steller  died  in  Siberia  in  1746.  He  was  on  his  way  to  Russia  when  he 
was  falsely  accused  and  dragged  into  prison  where  he  was  taken  ill  and  died 
soon  after  being  freed. 

Waxel  reached  the  rank  of  captain  of  the  first  rank.  When  he  died  his 
widow   was   granted  a   pension  of  two  thousand  rubles. 

In  1760  Cheluskin  was  made  captain-lieutenant.  A  little  later  he  was  again 
promoted. 

Chytref  was  made  contre-admiral  in  1753.  Ovtzin  in  1757  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  Poltava  holding  at  the  time  the  rank  of  ober-shter-kriegs  kom- 
misar. 

All  others  who  took  part  in  these  expeditions  were  advanced  one  grade  in 
rank,  dating  from  July  15,  1744,  and  their  wages  were  paid  accordingly.  The 
Senate  requested  the  Admiralty  College  to  reward  them  as  it  should  seem  best. 

Shelting  was  retired  from  service  in  1780  on  pension,  being  at  the  time 
contre-admiral. 

459  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta,  vol.  ix,  221.  The  names 
that  follow  are  those  of  the  men  in  the  Senate  and  the  Admiralty  College  who 
signed  the  instructions   of    1733: 

In  the  Senate  -  A.  Ushakof,  Prince  I.  Trubetskoi,  Count  M.  Golovkin,  V. 
Novosiltsof,  Obersecretary  I.   Kirilof. 

In  the  Admiralty  College  -  Vice-admirals  N.  F.  Golvin  and  N.  A.  Senya- 
vin,  Contre-admirals  Prince  N.  M.  Golitsin,  P.  P.  Bredal,  V.  A.  Dimitrief- 
Mamonof,  Captain-commanders  Z.  D.  Mishukof,  T.  Tran,  Prince  V.  Urusof, 
A.  I.  Golovin,  Procurator  I.  Kozlof. 


IX.     COMPLETION     OF    THE  SURVEY    OF 

NORTHEASTERN  SIBERIA  AND 

THE  AMUR  REGION 

In  the  last  chapter  attention  was  called  to  two  under- 
takings of  the  Bering  voyages  which  were  left  unfin- 
ished. One  was  whether  Asia  and  America  were 
united,  and  the  other  was  the  survey  of  the  coast  about 
the  Amur  River  and  Sakhalin  Island.  It  took  Russia 
another  century  to  bring  these  two  tasks  to  a  satisfac- 
tory end.  After  1750  the  work  of  exploration  was  car- 
ried on  in  an  irregular  way  and  on  a  small  scale,  but  on 
the  other  hand  it  was  in  charge  of  trained  men  who  did 
their  work  thoroughly  and  scientificially. 

The  relation  of  Asia  to  America  continued  to  occupy 
people's  minds  and  it  was  the  first  of  the  two  questions 
to  be  worked  out  by  Russia.  Shalaurof,  a  wealthy 
merchant  of  Siberia,  undertook  at  his  own  expense  to 
solve  the  problem.  In  1761  he  sailed  from  the  Jana 
River  and  came  that  year  as  far  as  the  Koluima.  On 
July  21,  1762,  he  put  out  to  sea  from  the  mouth  of  that 
stream  and,  notwithstanding  his  brave  efforts,  he  could 
not  reach  Shalagski  Cape.  His  last  attempt  was  in 
1764.  That  summer  he  went  out  to  sea  from  the  Lena 
River  and  neither  he  nor  any  member  of  his  crew  was 
ever  seen  again.460  In  1778,  Cook  passed  through 
Bering  Strait,  doubled  East  Cape,  and  sailed  along  the 
northeast  coast  of  Asia  to  Cape  North.461  This  achieve- 
ment, as  well  as  the  voyage  of  Laperouse,  stimulated 

460  Coxe,  W.     Account  of  Russian  Discoveries   (London,  1780),   323-329. 

461  Cook,  J.     Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean    (London,  1784),  vol.  ii,  466. 


252  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

the  Russian  government  to  new  efforts.  In  1785  Bil- 
lings, an  English  navigator,  who  had  been  with  Cook, 
was  commissioned  by  the  Empress  Catherine  to  chart 
the  Arctic  shore  from  the  Koluima  River  to  East 
Cape.482  He  made  the  attempt  during  the  month  of 
July,  1787,  but  on  account  of  the  ice  and  fog  he  ad- 
vanced but  a  short  distance  from  his  starting  point.4"3 
Four  years  later  he  undertook  to  chart  the  coast  by  land 
marches  from  the  shore.  He  left  his  boat  in  the  Bering 
Strait  and  marched  into  the  interior  from  Metchigne 
Bay.  One  of  his  officers,  Gikef,  was  sent  with  a  party 
of  Chukchi  to  East  Cape,  and  from  there  he  followed 
the  shore,  partly  on  foot  and  partly  by  boat  to  within 
about  ninety  miles  of  Koliutchin  Island.404  Both  of 
Billings's  undertakings  added  little  to  what  was  already 
known.  The  question  of  the  relation  of  Asia  to  Amer- 
ica was  still  an  open  one  and  would  remain  so  until 
some  one  succeeded  in  doubling  Shalagski  Cape.  For 
a  time  it  was  doubted  whether  Shalagski  was  a  cape. 
Burney405  advanced  the  theory  that  it  was  an  isthmus 
connecting  Asia  with  America.  In  1820,  the  Emperor 
Alexander  I  became  deeply  interested  in  the  problem 
and  ordered  Lieutenant  Ferdinand  von  Wrangell  to 
the  front  to  investigate.406  Wrangell,  followed  by  dog 
teams,  left  the  Koluima  in  February,  1821,  and  on 
March  5  he  stood  on  the  northwest  point  of  Shalagski 
Cape.  To  make  doubly  sure  that  it  was  a  cape,  he 
rounded  the  headland  and  followed  the  eastern  shore 

462  Billings'   Expedition    (London,    1802),  "Appendix,"  no.  v. 
4GS  —  Ibid.,  78. 

464  Wrangell's  Siberia  and  Polar  Sea   (London,  1840),  cx-cxii. 

465  Burney,  J.  A.     Chronological  History  of  the  North-eastern  Voyages  of 
Discovery  and  of  the  Early  Navigations  of  the  Russians  (London,  1819),  chap. 

XXV. 

466  Wrangell,  op.  cit.,  cxxv. 


SIBERIA  AND  THE  AMUR  REGION  253 

for  a  distance.407  On  February  26,  1823,  he  departed 
once  more  from  the  Koluima  for  Shalagaski  Cape  which 
he  reached  March  8.  From  here  he  continued  his 
march  eastward  to  Koliuchin  Island  where  he  arrived 
April  i^.408  His  efforts  joined  to  those  of  Cook  and 
Billings  proved  finally  that  Asia  and  America  were  not 
united. 

The  survey  of  the  coast  of  Sakhalin  and  East  Tartary 
was  delayed  until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Although  Russia  deserves  the  chief  credit  for  carrying 
this  work  to  a  successful  termination,  she  is  by  no  means 
entitled  to  all  the  credit.  China,  Japan,  France,  and 
England  also  made  certain  contributions  towards  its 
accomplishment.  The  investigation  of  this  topic  is, 
therefore,  somewhat  involved  and  necessitates  a  study 
of  the  navigations  and  the  cartography  of  this  region 
from  the  time  the  Europeans  first  came  into  these 
waters  until  the  insularity  of  Sakhalin  was  definitely 
ascertained.4"9 

It  is  quite  evident,  judging  from  the  physical  sim- 
ilarities of  the  inhabitants,  that  there  has  always  been 
communication  between  the  island  and  the  Chinese 
mainland;  there  is,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  little  to  in- 
dicate that  Sakhalin  was  generally  known  in  China. 
The  Jesuits,  who  occupied  themselves  with  the  geo- 
graphical questions  of  that  country,  did  not  hear  of  the 
island  before  they  went  on  their  astronomical  expedi- 
tion in  the  eighteenth  century.470 

4»J7  Wrangell,  op.  cit.,  109. 
46S — Ibid.,  332-370. 

469  Sakhalin  had  various  names.  Witsen  called  it  Amoerse,  Laperouse 
named  it  Tchoka,  Krusenstern  spoke  of  it  as  Karafouto,  Klaproth  claimed 
that  Tarakai  was  its  proper  name,  the  Russian  Senate  referred  to  it  in  1732, 
as  Bolshoi  [large]. 

470  Du  Halde,  J.  B.  Description  .  .  .  de  L'Empire  de  la  Chine,  vol. 
iv,   12. 


254  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

The  Japanese  knew  a  little  more  about  Sakhalin  than 
the  Chinese.  At  least  they  made  several  efforts  to  learn 
about  it.  Japanese  historians471  of  the  early  eighteenth 
century  tell  that  in  the  time  of  the  Shogun  Fido-tada 
(1605-1622)  the  prince  of  Matsmai,  Kin-firo,  sent  two 
parties  in  two  successive  years472  to  draw  a  map  of  Sak- 
halin. They  reached  the  southern  portion  of  the  island 
and  turned  back  without  completing  the  task.473  In 
1785,  Mogami  Tokunai,  a  well  known  Japanese  geo- 
grapher, sailed  from  the  northern  coast  of  Jeso  along 
the  western  side  of  Sakhalin  as  far  as  forty-six  degrees, 
fifty  minutes.  On  his  way  back  he  doubled  the  south- 
ern point  of  the  island  and  followed  the  eastern  shore 
to  Cape  Aniwa.474  He  made  two  other  attempts,  the 
second  in  1786,  the  date  of  the  third  is  not  definitely 
known,  and  was  fortunate  in  reaching  the  western  coast 
near  the  fifty-second  parallel475  and  the  eastern  near 
the  forty-ninth  (Cape  Patience).  He  made  also  ex- 
cursions into  the  interior.  The  maps  which  he  drew 
came  into  the  hands  of  Siebold,  who  reproduced  them 
in  his  atlas  of  Nippon.476 

Mamia  Rinso  accomplished  even  greater  deeds  than 
Mogami  Tokunai.  Departing  from  northern  Jeso  in 
1808,  and  sailing  in  the  Tartary  Strait  close  to  the  Sak- 
halin shore,  Rinso  succeeded  in  entering  the  mouth  of 
the  Amur  that  same  summer.  Siebold  obtained  Rinso's 
chart  and  journal  and  later  used  them  in  the  publica- 
tion of  his  Nippon.     But  as  this  work  did  not  appear 

471  Klaproth,  J.     Apercu  des  Trois  Royaumcs,  192-193. 

472  Siebold,  Ph.  Fr.  <von  Nippon,  vol.  i,  259,  gives  the  years  as  1613,   1614. 

473  During  the  remainder  of  the  seventeenth  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  Japan  was  too  busily  occupied  with  political  problems  to 
give  much  attention  to  geographical  questions. 

474  Siebold,  Ph.  Fr.  von  Nippon,  vol.  i,  260-261. 
w—lbid. 

us  — Ibid.,  "Atlas." 


SIBERIA  AND  THE  AMUR  REGION  255 

until  1852,  Europeans  derived  little  benefit  from  the 
painstaking  and  praiseworthy  efforts  of  these  coura- 
geous Japanese  navigators  and  geographers. 

With  no  intention  of  discovering  Sakhalin,  whose 
existence  was  unknown  to  them,  but  to  explore  the 
mysterious  land  of  Jeso,  the  Dutch  East  India  Com- 
pany sent  Captain  Vries  from  Japan  in  1643.  The 
chart  and  journal  of  the  expedition  are  in  existence477 
and  by  comparing  them  with  what  is  known  of  the 
North  Pacific  Ocean  it  is  quite  evident  that  Vries 
touched  on  the  southern  part  of  the  east  coast  of  Sak- 
halin. But  neither  he  nor  those  who  made  use  of  his 
chart  had  any  clear  conception  as  to  where  he  had  been. 
His  discoveries  were  identified  with  the  Terra  de  Jeso 
of  the  Jesuits,  and  the  whole  subject  remained  for  a  long 
time  obscure. 

Our  earliest  knowledge  of  Sakhalin  comes  to  us  neith- 
er from  the  Chinese,  Japanese,  Dutch,  nor  Jesuits,  but 
from  the  Russian  hunters  of  Siberia,  who  in  their  ef- 
forts to  explore  the  Amur  regions  came  in  contact  with 
Sakhalin.  In  1641  Maxim  Perofilyef  presented  him- 
self at  Jakutsk  and  announced  the  existence  of  Shilka 
River,  along  the  banks  of  which  grain  and  metal  were 
to  be  found.478  To  investigate  the  truth  of  this  report 
the  woewod  sent  in  1643  Wasili  Poyarkof  and  a  num- 
ber of  other  men.  They  struck  the  headwaters  of  the 
Amur479  and  sailed  down   that  stream  to   its  mouth. 

477  Siebold,  Discoveries  of  Maerten  Gerrits  Vries. 

478  Found  in  instructions  to  Poyarkof.  See  Chtenia  V  Imperatorskom  Ob- 
schestve  Islorii  I  Drevnostei  Rossiskich   (Moscow,  1861),  no.  1,  1-14. 

479  There  has  been  some  discussion  as  to  the  origin  of  the  word  "Amur" 
and  as  to  the  date  when  it  was  first  used  by  Europeans.  It  is  not  of  Russian 
but  of  Mongolian  origin.  In  the  instructions  issued  to  Poyarkof  in  1643  the 
name  Amur  is  not  mentioned,  which  indicates  that  it  was  then  unknown  to 
the  Russians.  On  his  return  in  1646,  Poyarkof  makes  use  of  the  word,  and 
this  is  the  first  time  that  it  appears  in  the  Russian  documents.     He  says,  "From 


256  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

From  there  they  went  out  to  sea  in  a  northerly  direction 
as  far  as  the  Ulja  River.  At  this  point  they  left  their 
boats  and  proceeded  overland  to  Jakutsk,  arriving  early 
in  1646.  In  his  report  Poyarkof  makes  the  statement 
that  the  Giliaks  live  "on  the  islands  of  the  ocean"480 
referring  no  doubt  to  Sakhalin.  A  reliable  Russian 
writer  says  (without  giving  authority)  that  Poyarkof 
was  wrecked  on  a  large  island  soon  after  leaving  the 
Amur.481  There  is  no  need,  however,  of  direct  evi- 
dence to  prove  that  the  Russians  were  aware  of  Sak- 
halin, for  sailing,  as  they  did,  in  the  Tartary  Strait  they 
could  not  help  but  see  it.  Although  trade  relations 
were  established  with  the  natives  of  the  upper  waters 
of  the  Amur,  the  Russians  rarely  went  down  to  the 
mouth  of  the  river.482  By  the  treaty  of  Nertchinsk,  in 
1689,  the  Amur  River  and  Sakhalin  were  removed 
from  Russia's  sphere  of  influence,  and  the  citizens  of 
that  country  were  forbidden  to  go  near  these  places. 

The  charts  which  Poyarkof  and  some  other  Siberians 
drew  of  the  regions  which  they  traversed  have  disap- 
peared. There  have,  however,  come  down  two  maps 
of  Siberia,  both  drawn  at  the  request  of  the  czar,  one  in 
1667  or  J668  by  Peter  Godunof,  and  the  other  by 
Semen  Remezof  some  years  later.4S3  On  these  two  maps 

the  Shilka  to  the  Amur  in  six  days.  .  .  The  Amur  falls  into  the  Shun- 
gal  .  .  .  and  from  there  the  Amur  continues  to  the  sea"  [Dopotnenia  K 
Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iii,  50-55].  In  addition  to  the  term  Amur  the  river 
had  other  names.  According  to  Muller  the  Manchoux  called  it  Sachalin  Ula, 
the  Chinese  Helung  Kiang,  also  Chelundsiam,  the  Tungas  Schilkar,  Schilk  or 
Silkar,  and  the  ancient  Mongols  Karamuram.  Siebold  gives  the  Japanese 
name  as  Manke.     Witsen  says  that  Ngam-Cumkiam  is  the  Chinese  name. 

480  Dopotnenia   K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,   vol.  iii,   50-55. 

481  Sadovnikof,  D.,   Nashi  Zampleprochodtsi,   78. 

482  In  addition  to  Poyarkof's  voyage  only  two  or  three  other  Russian  parties 
came  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  {Dopolnettia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  no.  100, 

354-]- 

483  Godunof's  map   and   memoir  accompanying  it  may  be   found  in  Titof, 


SIBERIA  AND  THE  AMUR  REGION  257 

the  Amur  River  is  represented,  but  Sakhalin  is  not,  due 
probably  to  the  fact  that  they  were  asked  to  describe 
Siberia484  and  not  the  islands.  That  it  was  well  known 
in  Siberia  that  there  was  a  large  island  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Amur  may  be  proved  from  Witsen,  who  quotes  a 
Russian  manuscript  of  1666  to  that  effect.485  Other 
documents  of  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century 
make  mention  of  a  large  island  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Amur,  and  one  gives  a  description  of  the  inhabitants.486 
Godunof's  and  Remezof's  maps  are  valuable  because 
they  give  the  Siberian's  idea  of  Siberia,  and  because 
they  fell  into  the  hands  of  Witsen  who  used  them  in 
1687  to  construct  his  great  map  of  northern  Asia.487 
He  acknowledges  that  he  used  Godunof's  map,488  and  a 
critical  comparison  of  Witsen's  and  Remezof's  maps 
shows  that  the  former  owes  a  great  deal  to  the  latter.489 
On  Witsen's  map  the  "Amur"  River  is  traced  to  its 
mouth,  situated  between  the  fifty-fourth  and  fifty-fifth 

Siberia  in  the  Seventeenth  Century.  A  Swedish  ambassador,  C.  J.  Prutz,  who 
was  at  Moscow  in  1669,  made  a  copy  of  the  map  and  brought  it  home  with 
him.  This  copy  has  been  preserved  and  reproduced  by  Nordenskjold  in  Ymer 
of  1887. 

Remezof's  map  and  notes  have  been  published  in  1882  and  is  known  as 
"Tscerteznaya  Kniga  Sibir."  Remezof  says  that  the  bases  of  his  map  are  his 
own  explorations  and  the  maps  he  found  in  Siberia.  Several  sheets  of  his  maps 
were  completed  as  early  as  1673,  and  the  remaining  somewhere  between  that 
date  and  1701. 

484  Titof,  A.     Sibir  V  XVII  Weke,  25. 

485  Witsen,  N.     Noord  en  Oost  Tartaren,  vol.  ii,  825. 
4SG  Titof,  A.     Sibir  V  XVII  Weke,  84,  no,  in. 

487  Witsen  was  one  of  the  greatest  geographers  of  his  time.  He  was  pains- 
taking and  had  the  historian's  eagerness  to  get  at  the  sources.  His  position  as 
burgomaster  of  Amsterdam  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  meeting  and  becoming 
the  teacher  and  friend  of  Peter  the  Great  and  of  securing  through  him,  when 
Witsen  visited  Russia,  very  valuable  material  for  his  literary  undertakings. 

488  Schrenck,  L.     Reisen  und  Forschungen  in  Amur-Lande,  vol.  iii,  95-98. 

489  Middendorf,  A.  Th.  von.     Sibirische  Reise,  vol.  iv,  36-38. 
Remezof's  map   is    marked   up    with    Dutch   explanations   and    translations. 

This  in  itself  does  not  prove  that  Witsen  used  it,  but  taken  together  with  the 
evidence  just  mentioned  the  probabilities  of  his  having  done  so  are  very  strong. 


258  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

parallels.  Opposite  to  it  is  a  large  "Amoerse  Eylandt," 
and  a  little  to  the  north  is  another  island,  "Stolpka 
Memcoy,"  49°  probably  intended  for  one  of  the  Shan- 
tars.491  Here  then  is  the  earliest  published  map  dis- 
tinctly tracing  and  naming  the  Amur  River  and  indi- 
cating the  island  which  bears  the  name  of  Sakhalin. 

Witsen's  map  was  copied  by  other  cartographers. 
Edward  Wells  in  1698  or  1699  and  Herman  Moll  in 
1 701  reproduced  the  Amur  River  and  the  Amoerse 
Eylandt  and  located  them  where  Witsen  did.  Guill- 
aume  Delisle  is  indebted  to  Witsen  for  the  good  points 
of  his  map  of  Tartary  which  he  published  in  1708. 
Delisle,  however,  makes  some  changes,  the  reasons  for 
which  are  not  apparent.  In  his  hands  Witsen's  Fluvius 
Amur  becomes  Riviere  d'Amour,  emptying  itself  into 
the  ocean  about  six  degrees  farther  south.  Amoerse 
Eylandt  is  transformed  into  the  "Isle  d'Amour"  but 
retains  the  position  given  it  by  Witsen.  A  small  num- 
ber of  map  makers  were  temporarily  influenced  by  De- 
lisle, the  majority  still  followed  Witsen;  and  even  De- 
lisle himself,  in  a  later  map,  located  the  mouth  of  the 
river  between  the  fifty-fourth  and  fifty-fifth  parallels.492 

Until  the  early  thirties  of  the  eighteenth  century  Wit- 
sen was  the  generally  accepted  authority  for  this  part 
of  the  world.  By  that  time  new  and  scientific  data  had 
become  accessible.    Three  Jesuits,  Regis,  Jartoux,  and 

490  'phg  word  "Memcoy"  is  meaningless.  In  two  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury manuscripts  found  in  Titof's  Siberia  [pp.  54,  no],  reference  is  made  to 
a  Stolp  Kamcnnoi  [stone  column],  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Kamchatka.  Wit- 
sen often  made  mistakes  in  translating  from  the  Russian,  and  he  may  have 
done  so  in  this  case. 

491  At  Jakutsk  the  existence  of  the  Shantars  was  known  about  1644,  but 
they  were  not  explored  until  many  years  later. 

492  L'Asie  (Amsterdam,  after  1721).  This  time  he  calls  the  river  Gham- 
mas,  a  term  which  he  borrowed  from  Sanson.  Delisle's  principal  contribution 
to  the  cartography  of  this  part  of  the  world  is  the  word  "Amour,"  which  cer- 
tain map  makers  still  prefer  to  "Amur." 


SIBERIA  AND  THE  AMUR  REGION  259 

Fidelli  went  down  the  Amur  in  1709493  and  came  near 
enough  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  to  learn  from  the 
natives  that  there  was  a  large  island  close  by.494  About 
ten  years  later  a  map  of  these  regions  was  completed  in 
China  and  a  copy  sent  to  France.  This  copy  fell  into 
the  hands  of  D'Anville  who  was  constructing  a  map  to 
go  with  Du  Halde's  China.  On  the  Jesuit  map  the 
mouth  of  the  Amur,  or  Saghalien  oula,  is  situated  near 
the  fifty-second  parallel,  and  the  island  facing  it  is  much 
larger  than  the  Amoerse  Eylandt  of  Witsen.  On  the 
copy  which  D'Anville  possessed  no  name  was  given  to 
the  island,  but  close  by  these  words  were  written:  Sag- 
halien Anga  Hata,  meaning,  "Rocks  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Black  River."495  In  his  ignorance  of  the  Chinese 
language,  D'Anville  translated  the  words  as  "Island  of 
the  Black  River."490  In  the  course  of  time  the  words 
"Anga  Hata"  were  dropped,  leaving  Saghalien  for  the 
name  of  the  island.497  D'Anville's  map,  being  superior 
to  Witsen's,  superseded  it,  and  the  term  Saghalien  su- 
perseded Amoerse  and  all  other  names  given  to  it 
later.498 

With  the  exception  of  Poyarkof  and  one  other  party 
of  Russians  in  the  seventeenth  century499  and  the  efforts 
of  Bering's  lieutenants  in  the  eighteenth  century  there 

493  Du  Halde,  J.  B.  Description  .  .  .  de  I'Empire  de  la  Chine,  vol.  i, 
p.  xxx. 

494  —  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  12.  "lis  nous  apprirent  les  premiers,  ce  que  nous  ne 
scavions  pas,  qu'il  y  avoit  vis-a-vis  l'embouchure  du  Saghalien  oula  une 
grande  Isle  habite  par  des  gens  semblables  a  eux.  Dans  la  suite  4'empereur  y 
a  envoye  des  Mantcheoux,  qui  y  ont  passe  sur  les  Barques  de  ces  Ketcheng- 
tase  lesquels  demeurent  au  bord  de  la  Mer,  et  onr  commerce  avec  les  Habitans 
de  la  partie  occidentale  de  1'Isle." 

495  Klaproth,  J.     Apercu  des  Trois  Royaumes,  188. 

496  _  Mid. 

497  The  name  is  also  written:  Saghalin,  Sagalien,  Sachalien,  etc. 

498  D'Anville's  map  was  published  in  1735. 

499  See  footnote  482. 


260  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

is  no  record  that  other  Europeans  sailed  in  Tartary 
Strait  until  the  coming  of  Laperouse  in  1787.  This 
famous  Frenchman  set  about  clearing  up  the  carto- 
graphical confusion  of  this  region.  After  touching  at 
Jeso  Island,  he  sailed  into  Tartary  Strait  until  he  was 
stopped  by  the  shallow  water  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  fifty-second  parallel.  In  his  report  and  chart  he 
announced  that  there  was  no  navigable  channel.500 

Ten  years  later  Broughton,  following  the  course  of 
Laperouse,  succeeded  in  reaching  farther  north  by  fif- 
teen miles,501  but  without  finding  a  passage.  Krusen- 
stern,  in  1805,  undertook  to  solve  the  problem  in  an- 
other way.  Instead  of  following  the  western  shore  of 
Sakhalin  he  sailed  along  the  eastern,  and  in  so  doing 
determined  the  northern  extent  of  the  island.  He 
doubled  and  named  the  northern  capes  and  then  steered 
a  southerly  course  through  Tartary  Strait,  hoping  that 
in  this  manner  he  would  join  his  efforts  with  those  of 
Laperouse.  But  when  within  two  hundred  miles  of  his 
desired  goal,  and  before  sighting  the  Amur  River,  he 
was  brought  to  a  standstill  by  the  sand  banks,  and  turned 
back,  believing  Sakhalin  to  be  a  peninsula.502 

It  is  probably  unique  in  the  annals  of  modern  geo- 
graphy that  three  scientists,  among  the  greatest  naviga- 

500  Laperouse,  J.  B.  Voyage  de  Laperouse  autour  du  Monde,  vol.  iii,  53. 
"Cette  stagnation  des  eaux  paraissait  etre  une  preuve  qu'il  n'y  avait  point  de 
chenal." 

501  Broughton,  W.  R.  Voyage  of  Discovery  in  the  North  Pacific  Ocean, 
vol.  vii,  302.  Broughton  was  "fully  convinced  that  there  was  no  opening  to 
the  sea  in  this  direction,  the  whole  being  closed  by  lowland,  which  we  could 
plainly  distinguish  at  intervals." 

502  Krustenstern,  A.  J.  de.  Voyage  Autour  du  Monde,  vol.  ii,  247.  "II  est 
par  consequent  demontre  que  Sakhalin  est  uni  a  la  Tartarie  par  une  isthme 
tres-bas,  et  ainsi  n'est  qu'une  presq'ile.  Toutefois  il  est  possible  et  meme 
tres  vraisemblable  qu-anciennement,  et  peut-etre  meme  a  une  epoque  peu 
eloignee,  Sakhalin  etait  isole  du  continent  comme  les  cartes  chinoises  le  repre- 
sentent." 


SIBERIA  AND  THE  AMUR  REGION  261 

tors  of  their  day,  studying  the  subject  on  the  spot  should 
come  to  such  erroneous  conclusions.  It  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  stay-at-home  cartographers  adopted  their 
views.  Some  made  Sakhalin  a  peninsula  of  Tartary, 
connecting  it  with  the  mainland  just  at  the  spot  left 
unexplored  by  Krusenstern  and  Broughton.503  Others, 
although  not  distinctly  uniting  the  two  bodies,  yet  indi- 
cated that  they  are  joined  by  sandbanks  and  called  Sak- 
halin a  peninsula.504  There  are  a  few,  however,  who 
still  picture  Sakhalin  as  an  island,505  but  it  is  not  prob- 
able that  they  mean  that  it  is  circumnavigable.506 

The  following  extract  from  Findlay's  work  entitled 
A  Directory  for  the  Navigation  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  50T 
gives  the  generally  accepted  English  view  regarding 
Sakhalin: 

It  is  not  absolutely  determined  whether  Sakhalin  be  an  island 
or  peninsula,  but  as  all  evidence  tends  towards  the  latter  opin- 
ion, that  appellation  has  been  retained  ...  it  must  there- 
fore be  considered  that  Sakhalin  is  joined  to  the  continent  by  a 
flat  sandy  neck  of  land  over  which,  it  is  possible,  the  sea  may 
wash  when  the  strong  southerly  gales  which  occur  here  drive 
the  waters  to  a  higher  level,  and  that  the  isthmus  may  be  of 
comparatively  recent  date,  and  still  on  the  increase  from  the 
deposits  of  the  Amour,  so  that  the  older  Chinese  charts  may  be 
correct. 

On  the  map  accompanying  this  work  Sakhalin  is  rep- 
resented as  a  peninsula.508 

503  Heinrich  Keller,  Weimar,  1814.  Probably  a  copy  of  the  map  in  Langs- 
dorff's  Reise  um  die  Welt. 

504  Vandermalen,  P.  H.     Asie  (Bruxelles,  1827). 

505  Malte-Brun,  Traite  Elementaire  de  Geographie:  "A  peu  de  distance 
des  cotes  de  la  Mantchourie  s'etend  la  longue  ile  de  Saghalien.     .     .     " 

506  Laperouse  seems  to  be  the  first  to  have  given  the  name  Manche  de 
Tartarie  to  the  waters  separating  the  island  from  the  mainland.  Broughton 
was  the  first  to  apply  the  term  Gulf  of  Tartary.  There  are  other  names  such 
as  Mamia  Rinso  Strait,  Tartary  Strait,  etc. 

507  London,  1851,  part  i,  618. 

508  For  a  somewhat  similar  view  see  M'Cullouch's  Universal  Gazetteer 
(New  York,  1849),  vol.  ii. 


262  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Krusenstern's  view  as  to  the  shape  of  Sakhalin  was 
accepted  in  Russia.509  There  were  at  this  time  other 
expeditions  to  Sakhalin:  Davidof  and  Chwostof  in  1806 
and  1807,510  and  Podushkine  in  1 809- 181 1  ;511  but  these 
touched  merely  on  the  southern  point  which  was  al- 
ready known.  There  is  no  record  of  any  others  between 
that  date  and  1845.512  Towards  the  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  Russia,  for  various  reasons  not  necessary 
to  enter  on  here,  decided  to  examine  a  little  more  closely 
the  regions  along  the  Amur.  Not  having  any  govern- 
ment boats  in  the  Okhotsk  Sea,  it  asked  the  Russian 
American  Company  to  send  an  expedition.  In  1846 
the  brig  Grand  Duke  Constantin,  in  command  of  Gav- 
rilof,  was  put  in  commission.  His  instructions  were 
to  pass  himself  off  as  a  non-Russian513  and  in  every  pos- 
sible way  to  leave  the  impression  with  the  natives,  par- 
ticularly the  Chinese,  that  the  Russian  government 
had  nothing  to  do  with  his  movements.  Gavrilof  en- 
tered on  his  duties  that  very  same  spring  and  remained 
at  work  all  summer.  He  died  soon  after  his  return, 
and  the  extent  of  his  efforts  are  somewhat  uncertain514 
and  of  little  importance,  since  it  had  no  influence  on  the 
events  that  followed. 

509  Captain  Golownin  in  his  Japan  and  the  Japanese  speaks  of  "Sagalin 
Peninsula." 

510  Asiatic  Society  of  Japan.     Transactions,  vol.  i. 

511  De  Sabir,  C.     Le  Flewve  Amour  (Paris,  1861),  p.  47. 

512  Barsukof,  I.  Count  Nikolai  N.  Muraveef-Amurski,  vol.  i,  268.  Among 
the  documents  there  presented  is  one  dating  1850  which  has  this  interesting 
statement:  "He  [American  whaler]  sent  three  boats  to  the  Sakhalin  shore  and 
had  dealings  with  the  Giliaks.  Neither  our  Okhotsk  boats  nor  those  of  the 
Russian  American  Company  ever  allowed  themselves  this  privilege  and  never 
went  near  Sakhalin  except  when  specially  ordered  to  do  so." 

513  He  was  ordered  not  to  take  Russian  but  Virginia  tobacco. 

514  Barsukof,  I.  Count  Nikolai  N.  Muraveef-Amurski,  vol.  i,  171.  Mur- 
avyof  says  that  Gavrilof  entered  the  gulf  of  the  Amur  from  the  north,  but  did 
not  find  a  passage  to  the  mouth  of  the  river.  De  Sabir  [op.  cit.,  52]  claims 
that  Gabrilof  did  enter  the  mouth  of  the  Amur. 


SIBERIA  AND  THE  AMUR  REGION  263 

Russia's  success  on  the  Amur  is  due  in  large  part  to 
one  of  her  great  statesmen,  Nicolai  Nicolaewitz  Mur- 
avyof-Amurski.  Appointed,  governor-general  of  Si- 
beria in  1847,  Muravyof  set  about  extending  Russia's 
power  on  the  Pacific.  Before  leaving  St.  Petersburg 
he  selected  Nevelski,  a  sea  captain  in  the  service  of  the 
Russian  American  Company,  to  help  him  carry  out  his 
plans.  Through  his  efforts  Nevelski  was  commissioned 
by  the  Russian  Government  to  undertake  a  secret  ex- 
pedition with  the  following  objects  in  view:  to  explore 
the  northern  part  of  Sakhalin,  the  strait  between  Sak- 
halin and  the  mainland,  and  the  gulf  and  mouth  of  the 
Amur.515  Early  in  the  spring  of  1849,  Nevelski  arrived 
in  Kamchatka,  and,  as  soon  as  he  discharged  his  cargo, 
he  sailed  for  Sakhalin.  He  carefully  surveyed  and 
charted  the  northern  point  of  Sakhalin  and  the  Amur 
Gulf.  When  no  longer  able  to  find  a  channel  for  his 
ship  Baikal  he  went  into  a  small  boat  and  continued  his 
southward  course  to  the  mouth  of  the  Amur  which  he 
entered.  Not  yet  content  with  his  achievement,  he 
pushed  on  still  farther  south  to  the  most  northerly  point 
attained  by  Broughton,  thus  proving  most  convincingly 
that  Sakhalin  is  an  island  and  not  a  peninsula.510 

From  1849  to  1855  Nevelski  and  other  Russian  offi- 
cers were  exploring  and  charting  the  waters  and  har- 
bors of  the  Amur  and  Sakhalin.  A  channel  was  found, 
and  the  Baikal  sailed  into  the  Amur  from  the  north  in 

515  Barsukof,  I.     Count  Nikolai  N.  Muraveef-Amurski,  vol.  ii,  37. 

516 — Ibid.,  vol.  i,  198,  222-224.  Muravyof  was  anxiously  waiting  for  him 
at  Ayan  [Okhotsk  Sea]  ;  and  when  on  the  morning  of  September  3,  1715,  the 
Baikal  hove  in  sight,  Muravyof  went  out  in  a  small  boat  to  meet  her.  When 
near  enough  to  be  heard  the  governor  called  for  news,  and  Nevelski  shouted 
back:  "God  helped  us  .  .  .  we  have  accomplished  our  important  task.  .  . 
Sakhalin  is  an  island.  It  is  possible  to  enter  the  gulf  and  the  river  Amur  by 
seagoing  vessels  either  from  the  north  or  the  south." 


264  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

1 850.517  Three  years  later 518  the  gunboat  Wostok,  com- 
ing from  Japan,  entered  the  river  from  the  south. 

These  important  discoveries  were  known  to  very  few 
people.  The  greatest  secrecy  was  maintained  for  fear 
of  exciting  China  and  arousing  the  hostility  of  other 
countries,  particularly  England.519 

During  the  Crimean  War  the  question  whether  Sak- 
halin is  an  island  or  a  peninsula  became  something  more 
than  academic.  England's  ignorance  on  this  point  had 
very  practical  results,  and  for  a  time  put  her  in  a  humil- 
iating position.  In  1855  an  English  squadron,  consist- 
ing of  the  Sibylle,  Hornet,  and  Bittern,  in  command  of 
Captain  C.  Elliot,  was  sent  to  the  North  Pacific  to  at- 
tack a  Russian  squadron  of  six  ships.  Although  out- 
numbering the  English  the  Russian  squadron  was  really 
much  weaker  as  a  fighting  force.  Aided  by  fog  and  the 
information  from  an  American  whaler,520  the  Russians 
escaped  from  Kamchatka  and  found  shelter  in  De  Cas- 
tries Bay.  Here  the  English  found  them,  and,  suppos- 
ing that  the  Russians  were  much  stronger  than  they 
really  were,  Captain  Elliot  did  not  think  it  wise  to  take 

517  Barsukof,  I.     Count  Nikolai  N.  Muraveef-Amurski,  vol.  i,  274. 

518  De  Sabir,  C.     he  Fleuve  Amour,  63. 

519  Muravyof  suspected  and  dreaded  England  above  all  other  nations.  He 
accused  her  of  desiring  to  become  the  leading  power  in  the  North  Pacific  and 
to  deprive  Russia  of  all  influence  and  power.  He  believed  that  England  had 
designs  on  the  Amur  and  that  her  ships  had  been  there.  In  1853  he  predicted 
that  the  United  States  would  secure  Russia's  American  possessions,  and  sug- 
gested that  an  alliance  should  be  formed  between  the  United  States  and  Rus- 
sia against  England  [Barsukof,  I.  Count  Nikolai  N.  Muraveef-Amurski,  vol. 
i,  323;   vol.  ii,  38,  46,  55]. 

520  The  activity  and  size  of  the  American  trading  and  whaling  fleet  during 
this  period  is  worth  noticing.  When  the  Russian  squadron  left  Kamchatka  to 
go  to  De  Castries  Bay  it  hailed  an  American  whaler.  In  escaping  from  the 
bay  it  fell  in  with  another  having  on  board  the  crew  of  a  wrecked  Russian 
gunboat  [Barsukof,  I.  Count  Nikolai  N.  Muraveef-Amurski,  vol.  i,  411,  414]. 
The  English  squadron  in  search  of  the  Russians  ran  into  and  almost  wrecked 
a  whaler  [Whittingham,  101]. 


SIBERIA  AND  THE  AMUR  REGION  265 

the  offensive.  He  therefore  despatched  the  Bittern  to 
Jeso  to  ask  help  of  the  English  admiral  stationed  there. 
The  "frigate  and  corvette,"  says  an  officer  on  board  one 
of  these  boats,  "commenced  cruising  in  a  narrow  part 
of  the  gulf  to  prevent  escape  southwards  of  the  Russian 
squadron.521  The  Russians,  finding  the  mouth  of  De 
Castries  Bay  clear,  took  advantage  of  the  fog  to  slip  out 
to  go  to  the  Amur  River.  A  day  or  two  after  their 
departure  the  English  looked  into  the  bay  and  found 
it  empty;  and  they  did  not  even  know  what  had  become 
of  the  enemy.  The  officer  just  quoted  continues  his  ac- 
count: 

And  as  I  still  believed  in  the  correctness  of  Laperouse  and 
Broughton's  dicta,  that  there  was  no  passage  for  ships  into  the 
gulf  of  the  Amur,  and  as,  above  all,  there  was  no  perceptible 
current,  a  discoloration  of  the  water,  which  the  discharge  of  the 
Amur  by  its  channel  must  have  caused,  I  imagined  that  the 
enemy  had  passed  us  in  the  fog,  and  that  he  trusted  to  an  early 
breaking  up  of  the  ice  in  the  sea  of  Okhotsk  to  allow  his  ships 
to  enter  the  Amur  by  the  north  round  Cape  Elizabeth.522 

When  too  late  the  English  officers  learned  how  the 
Russians  had  escaped.  From  this  time  on  it  became 
universally  known  that  Sakhalin  is  an  island  and  that  a 
navigable  strait  separates  it  from  East  Tartary. 

By  determining  the  insularity  of  Sakhalin  and  by 
charting  the  East  Tartary  Coast,  Russia  completed  the 
exploration  of  the  interior  and  the  survey  of  north  and 
northeast  Asia  and  a  great  part  of  northwest  America. 
When  she  had  finished  there  were  no  more  geographi- 
cal problems  to  solve  in  these  regions.  More  than  two 
centuries  were  spent  in  these  efforts.  It  took  no  less 
time  to  explore  and  conquer  North  America  although 
many  powerful  nations  were  engaged  in  the  effort.  His- 

521  Whittingham,  Notes,  94. 

522  _  m^  9g. 


266  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

tory  must  grant  to  Russia  a  high  place  in  exploration 
and  discovery. 

In  the  attempt  to  get  a  general  view  of  the  whole  per- 
iod, one  is  struck  by  the  crudeness,  by  the  lack  of  well 
laid  plans  at  times,  and  by  the  tremendous  amount  of 
misdirected  energy  on  the  part  of  Russia.  There  is 
much  that  is  admirable  in  the  wonderful  vitality  of  her 
people  and  deplorable  in  that  it  had  not  been  more  ad- 
vantageously used.  During  this  period  Russia  showed 
that  she  could  conquer  but  she  gave  little  evidence  that 
she  could  civilize;  she  subdued  the  natives  but  did  not 
enlighten  them.  Russia  came  into  the  possession  of 
this  vast  territory  because  her  population  was  overflow- 
ing with  physical  energy;  she  overwhelmed  all  native 
tribes  and  overcame  all  natural  obstacles.  It  is  this 
strenuous  struggle  against  savage  man  and  wild  nature 
that  makes  the  story  of  Russian  expansion  so  thrilling 
and  so  fascinating. 

After  1850  there  is  a  marked  change  in  Russia's  at- 
titude in  the  matter  of  expansion  in  the  Far  East.  From 
then  on  she  formed  far  sighted  plans  in  regard  to  that 
region  and  sent  there  her  ablest  statesmen.  She  no 
longer  depended  on  force  alone.  Her  goal  was  to 
reach  out  southward  rather  than  eastward.  She  with- 
drew from  America  and  concentrated  her  energies  on 
acquiring  territory  south  of  the  Amur  and  a  winter 
port.  But  these  plans,  successes,  and  failures  belong 
to  another  period  of  Russian  expansion. 


APPENDIX  A 

MULLER'S  ACCOUNT  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  523 

Bey  der  Zurukkunft  dieser  Leute  reitzte  die  Nachricht  von  den 
Wallrosszahnen  mehrere  Promyschleni  an,  Jahres  darauf  eine  zweyte 
Reise  zu  unternehmen.  Dazu  gesellete  sich  Fedot  Alexeew,  von 
Kolmogori  gebiirtig,  eines  Moscauischen  Kaufmanns  von  der  Gos- 
tinna  Sotna,  Alexei  Ussows,  Bedienter,  und  war  gleichsam,  als  das 
Haupt  davon,  anzusehen.  Er  fand  aber  fiir  gut,  von  dem  Befehls- 
haber  am  Flusse  Kolyma  auch  einem  in  Diensten  stehenden  Cosacken 
der  das  Kroninteresse  bey  der  Reise  besorgen  mochte,  sich  auszubit- 
ten.  Hierzu  bot  sich  einer  Simeon,  oder  Semon,  Iwanow  Sin  Desch- 
new  an,  und  wurd  von  dem  Befehlshaber  mit  Verhaltungsbefehlen 
versehen.  Vier  Schiffe,  die  man  Kotschen  nannte,  giengen  alle  zugleich 
im  Junius  1647  aus  dem  Flusse  Kolyma  unter  Seegel.  Man  hatte 
von  einem  Flusse  Anadir,  oder  nach  der  damahligen  Aussprache 
Anandir,  gehoret,  der  von  fremden  Volkern  stark  bewohnt  sey.  Man 
glaubte,  derselbe  werde  auch  in  das  Eissmeer  fallen.  Folglich  war 
eine  mit  von  den  Absichten  dieser  Reise,  desselben  Mundung  zu  ent- 
decken.  Allein  nicht  nur  dieses,  sondern  auch  alles  ubrige,  was  man 
zu  thun  sich  vorgenommen  hatte,  schlug  fehl ;  weil  die  See  selbigen 
Sommer  gar  zu  voll  von  Eise  war,  als  dass  sie  eine  freye  Fahrt  er- 
laubet  hatte. 

Dem  ungeachtet  liess  man  die  gefasste  Hoffnung  nicht  fahren. 
Vielmehr  vermehrte  sich  die  Anzahl  der  Liebhaber  auf  das  folgende 
Jahr  so  wohl  an  Cosacken,  als  Promyschleni,  dergestallt,  dass  man  7 
Kotschen  ausriistete,  die  alle  einerley  Absicht  hatten.  Was  vieren 
dieser  Fahrzeuge  wiederfahren,  davon  schweigen  unsere  Nachrichten. 
Auf  den  drey  ubrigen  waren  Semon  Deschnew  und  Gerasim  Anku- 
dinow  die  Haupter  der  Cosacken,  und  Fedot  Alexeew  der  vor- 
nehmste  unter  den  Promyschleni.  Die  zwey  ersten  geriethen  noch 
vor  der  Abreise  in  Streit,  weil  Deschnew  dariiber  eifersuchtig  wurd, 
dass  Ankudinow  sowohl  an  der  Ehre  der  zukiinftigen  Entdeckung- 

523  Muller's  Sammlung  Russisc/ier  Geschic/ite,  vol.  iii,  7-20. 


APPENDIX  A 

MULLER'S  ACCOUNT  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE 

The  return  of  these  men  with  accounts  of  the  walrus  tusks  en- 
couraged many  hunters  to  undertake  a  second  expedition  the  follow- 
ing year.  A  company  was  organized  under  the  leadership  of  Fedot 
Alexeef,  a  native  of  Kolmogori  and  agent  of  Alexei  Ussof,  a  Moscow 
merchant  of  the  Gostina  Sotna.  Alexeef  petitioned  the  officer  in 
charge  of  the  Koluima  that  a  Cossack  be  sent  along  to  look  after  the 
interest  of  the  government  on  the  voyage.  At  the  request  of  Simeon, 
or  Semon,  Iwanof  Deshnef  he  was  selected  to  accompany  the  party 
and  the  necessary  commission  and  instructions  were  issued  to  him. 
The  men  set  sail  from  the  Koluima  in  June,  1647,  in  four  boats, 
known  as  kotshi.  There  was  a  report  at  the  time  that  there  existed 
a  river,  Anaduir,  or  as  it  was  called  at  that  time  Ananduir,  the  banks 
of  which  were  thickly  inhabited  by  an  unknown  people.  It  was  be- 
lieved that  this  river  flowed  into  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  one  of  the 
objects  of  this  voyage  was  to  discover  the  mouth  of  this  stream.  Not 
only  this  undertaking  but  all  the  other  plans  of  the  party  failed  be- 
cause that  summer  the  sea  was  full  of  ice  making  nevigation  im- 
possible. 

Notwithstanding  this  set-back  the  men  had  not  lost  hope.  Indeed, 
by  next  year  so  many  more,  both  Cossacks  and  hunters,  wished  to  go 
that  it  took  seven  kotshi  to  accommodate  them  all.  What  became  of 
four  of  these  boats  our  documents  do  not  say.  On  the  remaining 
three  were  Semon  Deshnef  and  Gerasim  Ankudinof,  the  headmen 
of  the  Cossacks,  and  Fedot  Alexeef,  the  chief  of  the  hunters.  The 
two  first  mentioned  quarreled  even  before  their  departure,  because 
Deshnef  was  unwilling  to  share  with  Ankudinof  the  honor  of  the 


270  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

en,  als  an  denen  damit  verknupften  Vortheilen,  Theil  nehmen  sollte. 
Jedes  Fahrzeug  mag  etwan  30  Mann  stark  gewesen  seyn.  Wenig- 
stens  finder,  man  solches  von  Ankudinow  seinem  angemerket.  Desch- 
new  versparach  zum  voraus,  7  Zimmer  Zobeln  vom  Flusse  Anadir  an 
Tribute  in  die  Cassa  zu  liefern.  So  gross  war  seine  Zuversicht, 
diesen  Fluss  zu  erreichen ;  welches  denn  zwar  auch  endlich  geschahe : 
jedoch  nicht  so  bald,  und  nicht  mit  so  leichter  Miihe,  als  er  es  sich 
vorgestellet  hatte. 

Der  20te  Junius  1648  war  der  Tag,  an  welchem  diese  merkwiir- 
dige  Reise  von  dem  Flusse  Kolyma  angetreten  wurd.  Es  ist,  wegen 
der  noch  wenigen  Kenntniss,  die  wir  von  dortigen  Gegenden  haben, 
gar  sehr  zu  beklagen,  dass  nicht  alle  Umstande  dieser  Fahrt  sorgfaltig 
aufgezeichnet  sind.  Deschnew,  der  in  einem  Berichte  nach  Jakutsk 
seine  Thaten  selbst  erzehlet,  scheinet  von  dem,  was  ihm  zur  See  be- 
gegnet  ist,  fast  nur  zufalliger  Weise  zu  reden.  Bis  an  die  grosse 
Tschcktschische  Landecke  finden  wir  gar  nichts  von  Begebenheiten 
erwehnet.  Es  wird  keiner  Hindernissen  von  Eise  gedacht.  Ver- 
muthlich  waren  auch  keine.  Denn  Deschnew  erinnert  bey  einer 
andern  Gelegenheit,  dass  die  See  nicht  alle  Jahre,  so  wie  dieses  mahl, 
vom  Eise  rein  zu  seyn  pflege.  Mit  der  grossen  Landecke  fangt 
allererst  seine  Erzehlung  an,  welches  auch  derjenige  Umstand  ist,  der 
die  meiste  Aufmerksamkeit  verdienet  "Diese  Landecke,"  sagt  er,  "sey 
ganz  anders  beschaffen,  als  diejenige,  welche  bey  dem  Flusse  Tschu- 
kotschia  (westlich  vom  Flusse  Kolyma)  sich  befinde.  Sie  liege 
zwischen  Norden  und  Nordost,  und  drehe  sich  in  einer  Riindung 
gegen  den  Anadir  hin.  Auf  der  Russischen  (d.  i.  westlichen)  Seite 
derselben  falle  zum  Wahrzeichen  ein  Bach  in  die  See,  bey  welchem 
die  Tschuktschi  ein  Geruste,  wie  ein  Thurm,  von  Wallfischknochen 
aufgerichtet  hatten.  Gegen  iiber  der  Landecke  (es  ist  nicht  angezei- 
get,  auf  welcher  Seite)  seyen  zwo  Insuln  in  der  See,  auf  welchen  man 
Leute  gesehen,  von  Tschuktschischer  Nation,  durch  deren  durch- 
locherte  Lefzen  Wallrosszahne  hervorgeraget  hatten.  Man  moge 
von  der  Landecke  bis  an  den  Fluss  Anadir  mit  volkommen  gutem 
Winde  in  drey  mahl  24  Stunden  seegeln  konnen,  und  zu  Lande  werde 
es  auch  nicht  weiter  seyn,  weil  der  Anadir  in  einen  Meerbusem  falle." 
Uebrigens  geschahe  es  noch  an  dieser  Landecke,  dass  Ankudinows 
Kotsche  zerscheiterte,  und  dass  die  Leute  von  derselben  auf  die 
ubrigen  beyden  Kotschen  geborgen  wurden.  Nachdem  Deschnew  und 
Fedot  Alexeew  den   20.   September   noch   am   Lande   gewesen,   und 


MULLER'S  ACCOUNT  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE   271 

discovery  and  the  profit  which  would  result  from  the  proposed  voyage. 
On  each  of  the  boats  there  were  about  thirty  men,  at  least  that  was 
the  number  on  Ankudinof's  kotsh.  Deshnef  promised,  before  going, 
to  bring  from  the  Anaduir  seven  Zimmer  of  sables  [a  bundle  of  forty 
skins  was  called  a  Zimmer]  as  tribute,  so  confident  was  he  of  reaching 
the  river.  In  the  end  he  was  successful  but  it  was  not  done  as 
quickly  and  as  easily  as  he  had  imagined. 

On  the  twentieth  day  of  June  1648  this  remarkable  voyage  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Koluima  was  entered  upon.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  since  we  know  so  little  of  these  regions  that  no  fuller  details 
of  this  expedition  have  come  down  to  us.  Deshnef  in  one  of  his  re- 
ports to  Jakutsk,  wherein  he  speaks  of  his  deeds,  refers  incidentally 
to  what  happened  to  him  at  sea  on  this  voyage.  We  know  nothing 
at  all  of  what  occurred  from  the  time  he  left  the  Koluima  until  he 
reached  the  large  Chukchi  Cape.  There  is  no  mention  made  of  ice 
obstructions  probably  because  there  were  none.  In  another  connection 
Deshnef  says  that  the  sea  is  not  as  free  from  ice  every  year  as  it  was 
this  time.  His  narrative  begins  with  a  description  of  the  large  cape 
which  is  of  such  importance  in  this  connection  that  it  deserves  careful 
consideration.  "This  cape,"  says  he,  "is  quite  different  from  the  one 
by  the  river  Tschukotschia  (west  of  the  river  Koluima).  The  cape 
is  situated  between  north  and  northeast,  and  turns  in  a  circular  direc- 
tion towards  the  Anaduir.  On  its  Russian  side  (i.e.  west  side) 
there  is  a  stream  flowing  into  the  sea,  and  near  by  that  the  Chukchi 
have  erected  a  pile,  like  a  tower,  made  of  whalebone.  Opposite  the 
cape  (it  is  not  said  on  which  side)  are  two  islands  on  which  were 
seen  Chukchi  who  had  holes  in  their  lips  in  which  were  pieces  of  wal- 
rus tusk.  With  a  good  wind  one  can  sail  from  the  cape  to  the 
Anaduir  in  three  times  twenty-four  hours,  and  it  would  not  take  any 
more  time  to  go  by  land  because  the  Anaduir  empties  into  a  bay." 
On  this  same  cape  Ankudinof's  kotsh  was  wrecked,  and  the  crew  was 
distributed  on  the  two  other  boats.  On  the  twentieth  of  September 
Deshnef  and  Fedot  Alexeef  were  on  shore  and  had  a  fight  with  the 


272  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

mit  den  Tschuktschi  ein  Gefechte  gehalten,  worin  der  letzte  ver- 
wundet  worden :  so  verloren  bald  darauf  die  beyden  Kotschen  einander 
aus  dem  Gesichte,  und  kamen  nicht  wieder  zusammen.  Deschnew 
wurd  bis  in  den  October  von  Wind  und  Wetter  in  der  See  herun 
getrieben.  Endlich  litte  er  Schifbruch,  und  zwar,  wie  es  die  Um- 
stande  geben,  ziemlich  weit  in  Suden  von  dem  Flusse  Anadir,  etwa  in 
der  Gegend  des  Flusses  Olutora.  Was  mit  Fedot  Alexeew  und  seiner 
SchifJgesellschaft  geschehen,  wird  unten  gesagt  werden. 

Deschnew  war  25  Mann  stark,  mit  denen  er  sich  aufmachte,  den 
Anadir  zu  suchen.  Er  fand  ihn  aber,  wegen  Mangels  eines  Weg- 
weisers,  erst  nach  10  Wochen,  die  er  zu  Fusse  gewandert.  Die  Ge- 
gend, wo  er  den  Anadir  erreichte,  war  unweit  desselben  Mundung, 
in  einer  Gegend,  die  sowohl  von  Einwohnern,  als  von  Waldung, 
entblosset  war.  Dieser  Umstand  setzte  ihn  und  seine  Gefahrten  in 
die  grosseste  Verkummerniss.  Wovon  sollten  sie  sich  ernahren? 
Durch  die  Jagd  konnte  solches  wegen  Mangels  wilder  Thiere,  die 
meistens  den  Waldern  folgen,  nur  sehr  sparsam  geschehen,  und  zum 
fischen  fehlte  es  an  der  nothigen  Gerathschaft.  In  Erwegung  dieses 
begaben  sich  12  Mann  von  der  Gesellschaft  den  Anadir  aufwerts. 
Diese  aber  trafen  innerhalb  20  Tagen,  so  sie  in  der  Irre  herum 
giengen,  eben  so  wenig  Menschen  an,  so  dass  sie  zuletzt  sich  gezwun- 
gen  sahen,  nach  Deschnews  Standlager  zuruck  zu  kehren,  welches 
jedoch  wegen  Hungers  und  Miidigkeit  nur  die  wenigsten  erreichten. 

Den  folgenden  Sommer  1649  fuhr  Deschnew  mit  seinem  Volke  zu 
Wasser  den  Anadir  aufwerts,  und  fand  Leute,  die  sich  Anauli  nann- 
ten,  die  damahls  ihrn  ersten  Tribut  am  Flusse  Anadir  bezahlten. 
Diese,  da  sie  ohnedem  nicht  zahlreich,  und  doch  dabey  widerspenstig 
waren,  sind  in  kurzer  Zeit  ganz  aufgerieben  worden.  Damahls  wurd 
Anadirskoi  Ostrog,  als  eine  Simowie,  von  Deschnew  gegriindet. 
Daselbst  nahm  er  seine  Wohnung.  Er  war  besorgt  wie  er  dereinst 
nach  dem  Flusse  Kolyma  zuruckkommen,  oder,  nur  Nachricht  von 
seinen  Begebenheiten  dahin  uebersenden  mochte,  als  ihm  andere  dazu 
den  Weg  zeigten,  die  den  25.  April  1650  uber  Land  dey  ihm  anka- 
men. 

Man  war  seit  Deschnews  Abreise  am  Flusse  Kolyma  nicht  mussig 
gewesen,  neue  Abfertigungen,  sowohl  zu  Wasser,  als  zu  Lande,  zu 
veranstalten,  damit,  wenn  die  Hofnung  mit  jenen  fehl  schluge,  doch 
die  weiter  in  Osten  gelegende  Gegenden  nicht  unerforscht  blieben. 
Unter  diesen  verdienet  eine  zur  See  nicht  sowohl  wegen  der  dabey 


MULLER'S  ACCOUNT  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  273 

Chukchi,  in  which  Alexeef  was  wounded.  After  this  the  two  boats 
became  separated  and  did  not  again  unite.  Deshnef  was  out  at  sea 
until  October,  driven  here  and  there  by  wind  and  weather.  In  the 
end  he  was  shipwrecked,  and  from  all  indications,  at  a  considerable 
distance  south  of  the  River  Anaduir,  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  River  Oliutora.  What  became  of  Fedot  Alexeef  and  his  men 
will  be  explained  farther  on. 

Deshnef  and  his  companions,  numbering  twenty-five  men,  set  out 
to  find  the  Anaduir.  Not  having  a  guide  they  wandered  on  foot  for 
ten  weeks  before  they  found  the  stream,  at  a  point  not  very  far  from 
its  mouth,  in  a  neighborhood  where  there  were  to  be  found  neither 
human  beings  nor  timber.  This  circumstance  made  their  situation 
very  critical.  How  should  they  support  themselves?  They  could 
not  hunt  because  all  the  wild  game  remained  in  the  forests,  they  could 
not  fish  because  they  lacked  the  necessary  fishing  gear.  Under  the 
circumstances  twelve  men  of  the  party  started  up  the  river.  They 
wandered  about  for  twenty  days  without  seeing  a  human  being  and 
were  at  last  forced  to  turn  back  to  Deshnef's  camp,  but  on  account  of 
hunger  and  weariness  only  a  very  few  reached  the  destination. 

The  following  summer,  1649,  Deshnef  and  his  men  went  up  the 
Anaduir  by  boat  and  found  the  natives  of  the  country  who  called 
themselves  Anauli  and  who  paid  their  first  tribute.  These  people  al- 
though few  in  number  resisted  stubbornly  and  were  soon  destroyed. 
Deshnef  built  a  zimovie  and  made  this  place  his  headquarters  which 
in  time  became  Anaduirskoi  Ostrog.  He  was  wondering  how  he 
might  get  back  to  the  Koluima  or  how  he  might  send  thither  a  report 
of  his  movements,  when  the  way  was  pointed  out  to  him  by  others 
who  had  come  overland  and  had  joined  him  on  April  25,  1650. 

Those  who  remained  behind,  after  Deshnef's  departure  from  the 
Koluima,  were  busy  making  preparations  to  go  by  land  and  sea  to  the 
eastward  for  the  purpose  of  making  discoveries.  One  of  these  at- 
tempts at  discovery  deserves  attention,  not  so  much  on  account  of 


274  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

gemachten  Entdeckungen,  als  der  Gelegenheit  wegen,  wodurch  sie 
veranlasset  worden,  angefuhret  zu  werden. 

Michael  Staduchin,  ein  Cosacke  von  Jakutsk,  hatte  im  Jahre  1644 
mit  einigen  seiner  Gefahrten  den  untersten  Ostrog  am  Flusse  Kolyma 
erbauet.  Er  war  Jahres  darauf  nach  Jakutsk  zuruckgekommen,  mit 
einigen  Nachrichten,  die  zu  verdienen  schienen  dass  derselben  Gewiss- 
heit  untersuchet  wurde.  Ein  Weib  von  denen  am  Flusse  Kolyma 
wohnhaften  Volkern  solle  ihm  gesagt  haben,  es  liege  im  Eissmeere 
eine  grosse  Insul,  die  sich  vom  Flusse  Jana  bis  gegen  uber  den  Kolyma 
erstreckte,  und  vom  festen  Lande  konne  gesehen  werden.  Die  Tschukts- 
chi  von  dem  Flusse  Tschukotschia,  welcher  vom  Kolyma  in  Westen 
in  das  Eysmeer  fallt,  pflegten  im  Winter  mit  Rennthieren  in  einem 
Tage  nach  dieser  Insul  viber  das  Eyss  zu  gehen,  und  daselbst  Wall- 
rosse  zu  fallen,  von  welchen  sie  die  Kopfe  sammt  den  Zahnen  mit 
sich  zuriick  brachten,  und  dieselbe  anbeteten.  Er  habe  zwar  selber 
dergleichen  Zahne  bey  diesen  Leuten  nicht  gesehen,  aber  von  Promy- 
schleni  gehoret,  dass  sich  dergleichen  bey  ihnen  befanden,  und  dass 
gewisse  Ringe  an  ihren  Rennthiers-Schlitten  von  Wallrosszahnen 
gemacht  seyen.  Die  Promyschleni  bestarkten  auch  die  Wiirklichkeit 
sothaner  Insul,  und  hielten  sie  fur  eine  Fortsetzung  des  Landes 
Nowaia  Semlia,  wohin  man  von  Mesen  zu  fahren  pflege.  Ueberdem 
habe  er  von  einem  grossen  Flusse  Pogitscha,  den  andere  Kowytscha 
genannt,  gehoret,  der  drey  oder  mehr  Tagereisen  zur  See  mit  gutem 
Winde  zu  fahren,  jenseits  des  Kolyma  in  das  Eissmeer  falle.  Es 
sey  viel  Vortheil  fur  die  Krone  in  diesen  Gegenden  zu  hoffen,  wenn 
man  eine  grossere  Anzahl  von  Cosacken  dahin  schicken  werde.  u.  s.  w. 

Auf  diese  Nachrichten  und  Vorschlage  wurd  Staduchin  den  5. 
Junius  1647  zum  zweyten  Mahle  nach  dem  Flusse  Kolyma  abgefer- 
tiget,  mit  dem  Befehle,  dass  er  von  dort  nach  dem  Flusse  Pogitscha 
gehen,  an  demselben  eine  simowie  anlegen,  die  dortigen  Volker  zins- 
bar  machen,  und  von  der  vorgebenen  Insul  im  Eissmeere  Nachrichten 
einziehen  sollte.  Er  iiberwinterte  am  Jana,  gieng  im  Nachwinter 
1648  in  7  Wochen  mit  Narten  nach  dem  Indigirka,  bauete  daselbst 
eine  Kotsche,  und  fuhr  damit  nach  dem  Flusse  Kolyma. 

Darauf  geschahe  im  Sommer  des  Jahres  1649  die  Seefahrt  um  den 
Fluss  Pogitscha  zu  suchen.  Staduchin,  der  noch  ein  anderes  Fahr- 
zeug,  das  auf  dieser  Reise  zerscheiterte,  mit  sich  hatte,  fuhr  unter 
einem  Seegel  7  mahl  24  Stunden,  ohne  einen  Fluss  anzutreffen.  Er 
liess  anhalten,  schickte  aus,  um  Leute  aufzusuchen:  aber  auch  diese 


MULLER'S  ACCOUNT  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  275 

what  it  really  accomplished  as  because  of  the  circumstances  which 
surrounded  it. 

Michaelo  Staduchin,  a  Jakutsk  Cossack,  with  a  number  of  his 
associates  built  the  Lower  Koluimsk  Ostrog  in  the  year  1644.  He 
returned  to  Jakutsk  the  year  following  with  information  which 
seemed  to  merit  fuller  investigation.  He  said  that  he  had  met  a  woman, 
who  belonged  to  one  of  the  native  tribes  living  along  the  Koluima, 
who  told  him  that  there  is  a  large  island  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  stretch- 
ing out  from  the  Jana  to  the  Koluima,  which  island  may  be  seen  from 
the  mainland.  The  Chukchi  of  the  River  Chukotschia,  which  is 
west  of  the  Koluima  and  falls  into  the  Arctic  Ocean,  were  accustomed 
to  go  to  that  island  in  winter  over  the  ice  on  their  reindeer  in  one 
day.  There  they  killed  walrus  and  brought  back  with  them  the 
heads  with  the  tusks,  and  these  they  worshipped.  Staduchin  himself 
did  not  see  walrus  tusks  among  these  people,  but  hunters  had  told  him 
that  the  natives  had  them  and  that  the  runners  of  their  deer-sleds 
were  made  from  these  tusks.  The  hunters  also  confirmed  the  ex- 
istence of  this  island  and  they  were  of  the  opinion  that  it  was  a 
continuation  of  Nowaia  Semlia,  to  which  place  one  used  to  go  from 
Mesen.  At  the  same  time  he  heard  of  a  large  river,  Pogicha,  others 
call  it  Kowytscha,  which  with  fair  wind  is  three  or  more  days'  journey 
by  sea,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Koluima  and  falls  into  the  Arctic 
Ocean.  It  would  be  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  government  to 
send  into  these  regions  a  large  number  of  Cossacks,  etc.     .     . 

On  the  strength  of  this  information  and  recommendation,  on  June 
5,  1647,  Staduchin  was  sent  a  second  time  to  the  Koluima,  with  in- 
structions that  he  should  proceed  to  the  river  Pogicha  and  there  erect 
a  zimovie  and  make  the  inhabitants  pay  tribute,  and  obtain  more 
data  regarding  the  island  in  the  Arctic  Ocean.  He  wintered  on  the 
Jana,  leaving  there  in  the  late  winter  of  1648,  and  after  seven  weeks 
travel  on  sleds  reached  the  Indigirka,  where  he  built  a  kotsh  and 
went  to  the  Koluima. 

This  is  how  it  came  about  that  a  search  by  sea  for  the  Pogicha 
was  made  in  1649.  Staduchin,  in  addition  to  the  boat  which  he 
already  had,  took  with  him  another  one  which  was  wrecked  on  the 
voyage,  sailed  seven  times  twenty-four  hours  without  finding  a  river. 
He  made  a  halt  and  sent  his  men  ashore  to  find  the  natives  of  the 


276  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

wusten  von  keinen  Flussen  in  derselben  Gegend  zu  sagen.  Die  Kiiste 
war  felsicht,  man  konnte  folglich  nicht  fischen,  auch  mangelte  es  an 
gnugsamen  Vorrathe  von  Proviante.  Deswegen  kehrete  Staduchin 
nach  dem  Kolyma  zuriick.  Von  der  vorgegebenen  Insul  im  Eissmeere 
dass  sie  auf  dieser  Fahrt  ware  gesucht,  oder  gefunden  worden,  finder, 
sich  keine  Anzeige.  Aller  Nutzen  bestund  in  einigen  mitgebrachten 
Wallrosszahnen,  die  Staduchin  nach  Jakutsk  schickte,  und  vorschlug, 
dass  man  um  mehr  zu  suchen,  ausdrucklich  Leute  dahin  auf  den 
Fang  schicken  sollte. 

Nun  wuste  man  schon,  Pogitscha  sey  eben  derselbe  Fluss,  welcher 
auch  Anandir  genennet  werde.  Man  glaubte  nicht  mehr  seine  Mvin- 
dung  in  selbiger  Gegend  suchen  zu  miissen.  Man  erfuhr  durch  die 
heidnische  Volker,  dass  es  iiber  Land  dahin  naher  sey.  Dieses  gab 
zu  der  folgenden  Abfertigung  Gelegenheit.  Eigentlich  hatte  man 
die  so  niitzliche  Nachricht,  von  einem  Wege  zu  Lande  nach  dem 
Flusse  Anadir,  einem  Feldzuge  zu  danken,  den  die  Cosacken  vom 
Kolyma  zu  Anfange  des  Jahrs  1650  den  Fluss  Anui  aufwerts  thaten. 
Was  man  vorher  wuste,  bestund  nur  in  einem  ungewissen  Geriichte. 
Hier  aber  bekam  man  Gefangene  von  einem  Volke  Chodynzi,  die 
selbst  den  Weg  anzuzeigen  wusten. 

Alsobald  that  sich  eine  Gesellschaft  freywilliger  Leute,  theils  Co- 
sacken, theils  Promyschleni,  zusammen,  welche  bey  dem  Befehlshaber, 
zu  Kolymskoi  Ostrog  durch  eine  Bittschrift  ansuchten,  dass  man  sie 
nach  dem  Flusse  Anadir  moge  abgehen  lassen,  um  die  dortigen  Volker 
auf  Tribut  zu  setzen.  Solches  geschahe.  Semon  Motora,  so  hiess 
der  Anfiihrer  dieser  Leute,  bekam  den  23  Marz  oberhalb  am  Flusse 
Anui  einen  angesehenen  Mann  von  den  Chodynzi  gefangen,  und 
nahm  ihn  mit  sich  nach  dem  Anadir.  Motora  war  es,  der  den  23. 
April,  wie  oberwehnet,  am  Anadir  ankam,  allwo  er  sich  mit  Deschnew 
vereinigte.  Michaelo  Staduchin  folgte  diesem,  und  brachte  7  Wochen 
unterwegs  zu.  Als  er  am  Anadir  ankam :  so  gieng  er  Deschnews 
Simowie  vorbey,  that  seine  Sachen  besonders,  und  lebte  mit  jenem 
aus  Eifersucht  in  bestandigem  Streite.  Deschnew  und  Motora  woll- 
ten  ihm  aus  weichen,  dadurch,  dass  sie  sich  vornahmen,  nach  dem 
Flusse  Penschina  zu  gehen.  Indem  es  ihnen  aber  an  einem  Weg- 
weiser  fehlete,  so  sahen  sie  sich  gezwungen  von  dem  Wege  zuriick  zu 
kehren.  Darauf  begab  sich  Staduchin  nach  dem  Penschina,  und 
nachher  ist  nichts  weiter  von  ihm  gehoret  worden. 

Deschnew  und  Motora  hatten  am  Anadir  Fahrzeuge  gabauet,  um 


MULLER'S  ACCOUNT  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE   277 

country,  but  these  knew  of  no  river  in  that  region.  The  coast  was 
rocky  so  that  they  could  not  do  much  fishing,  and  also  because  they 
lacked  the  needed  provisions,  Staduchin  turned  back  to  the  Koluima. 
Of  the  aforementioned  island  not  a  trace  was  discovered.  All  that 
he  had  to  show  for  his  troubles  were  a  few  walrus  tusks  which  he 
sent  to  Jakutsk  with  the  proposal  that  men  should  be  sent  to  him 
to  look  for  more. 

From  all  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Pogicha  was  the  same  stream 
which  some  called  Ananduir.  It  was  no  longer  believed  that  its 
mouth  was  to  be  found  where  it  was  once  supposed  to  be.  It  was 
learned  through  the  heathen  natives  that  the  way  to  the  river  was 
much  nearer  by  land.  This  explains  the  expedition  described  below. 
This  useful  information  of  a  land  route  to  the  Anaduir,  was  secured 
by  a  party  of  Cossacks  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1 650  while  they 
were  making  war  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Aniui.  All  the  informa- 
tion thus  far  had  been  of  a  hearsay  character,  but  on  this  occasion  a 
number  of  Chodynzi,  who  knew  the  way  well  enough  to  act  as  guides, 
were  made  captive. 

As  soon  as  that  was  known  a  company  was  formed,  made  up  in 
part  of  Cossacks  and  in  part  of  hunters.  These  men  petitioned  the 
officer  of  Koluimsk  Ostrog  to  be  allowed  to  go  to  the  Anaduir  and  to 
take  tribute  of  the  inhabitants.  This  petition  was  granted.  Motora, 
the  leader  of  this  band,  captured  on  the  Aniui  River  on  March 
twenty-third  a  prominent  man  of  the  Chodynzi  tribe  and  took  him 
along  to  the  Anaduir.  Motora  reached  the  Anaduir  April  twenty- 
third,  as  aforementioned,  and  joined  forces  with  Deshnef.  Michaelo 
Staduchin  followed  closely  on  the  footsteps  of  Motora,  spending 
seven  weeks  on  the  way.  When  he  came  to  the  Anaduir  he  passed 
by  Deshnef's  zimovie  and  lived  apart  from  the  others  with  whom  he 
was  continually  quarreling  and  fighting.  Deshnef  and  Motora,  in 
order  to  keep  out  of  his  way,  left  their  camp  and  started  to  find  the 
River  Penjinsk.  But  not  having  a  guide  they  were  forced  to  turn 
back.  Soon  after  this  Staduchin  went  to  the  Penjinsk  and  since  that 
time  nothing  has  ever  been  heard  of  him. 

Deshnef  and  Motora  built  boats  on  the  Anaduir  intending  to  go  to 


278  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

damit  zur  See  zu  gehen,  und  mehrere  Flusse  zu  entdecken,  als  des 
letztern  Tod  erfolgte;  indem  er  zu  Ausgange  des  Jahres  1651  in 
einem  Gefechte  mit  den  Anaulen  umkam.  Indessen  dienten  die 
Fahrzeuge  dazu,  dass  Deschnew  damit  im  Sommer  das  1652  Jahrs 
nach  der  Mundiing  des  Flusses  Anadir  fuhr,  allwo  er  bemerkte,  dass 
auf  der  nordlichen  Seite  der  Mundung  eine  Sandbank  sich  weit  in 
der  See  erstreckte.  Dergleichen  Sandbanke  werden  in  Sibirien  Korgi 
genannt.  Auf  der  an  der  Mundung  des  Flusses  Anadir  pflegten  sich 
Wallrosse  haufig  einzufinden.  Deschnew  bekam  einige  ihrer  Zahne, 
und  hielt  seine  Muhe  dadurch  fur  gnugsam  belohnet. 

In  Jahre  1653  liess  er  Holz  fallen,  um  eine  Kotsche  zu  bauen, 
womit  der  bis  dahin  eingenomene  Tribut  zur  See  nach  Jakutsk  ab- 
gesandt  werden  konnte.  Weil  es  aber  an  dem  iibrigen  Zubehore 
fehlte;  so  unterblieb  die  Sache.  Man  horte  auch,  dass  die  See  um  das 
grosse  Tschuktschische  Noss  nicht  alle  Jahre  vom  Eise  frey  sey. 

Eine  zweyte  Reise  nach  der  Korga,  der  Wallrosszahne  wegen, 
geschahe  im  Jahre  1654.  Dabey  befand  sich  auch  Juschko  Seliwer- 
stow,  ein  von  Jakutsk  neuangekommener  Cosacke,  welcher  den 
Michaelo  Staduchin  auf  seiner  Seereise  begleitet  hatte,  und  da  er  von 
diesem  mit  dem  Vorschlage,  die  Wallrosszahne  zum  Nutzen  fur  die 
Krone  aufsuchen  zu  lassen,  nach  Jakutsk  geschicket  worden :  jetzt 
mit  der  Verordnung,  solches  zu  thun,  versehen  war.  In  seinem  Ver- 
haltungsbefehle  ist,  nebst  dem  Anadir,  auch  der  Tschendon,  ein  Fluss, 
der  in  den  Penschinskischen  Meerbusem  fallt,  benennet,  an  welchen 
beyden  er,  weil  man  damahls  von  Deschnews  Thaten  zu  Jakutsk  noch 
nicht  unterrichtet  war,  die  Volker  auf  Tribut  setzen  sollte.  Hieriiber 
entstunden  wieder  Uneinigkeiten.  Seliwerstow  wollte  sich  die  Er- 
findung  der  Korga  zuschreiben,  als  wenn  dieses  der  Ort  sey,  wohin  er 
mit  Staduchin  im  Jahre  1649  zur  See  gekommen  sey.  Deschnew  aber 
bewies,  dass  sie  nicht  einmahl  das  grosse  Tschuktschische  Noss,  wel- 
ches aus  lauter  Felsen  bestunde,  und  ihm  da  Ankudinows  Kotsche  daran 
zerscheitert,  nur  gar  zu  bekannt  sey,  erreichet  hatten.  "Dieses,  sagte 
er,  sey  nicht  das  erste  Vorgebiirge,  welches  unter  dem  Nahmen  von 
Swatoi  Noss  vorkomme.  Die  dem  Tschuktschischen  Noss  gegeniiber 
liegenden  Insuln  der  zahnichten  Menschen,  deren  wir  oben  gedacht 
haben,  seyen  das  eigentliche  Wahrzeichen  desselben.  Diese  Menschen 
habe  Deschnew,  nicht  aber  Staduchin  und  Seliwerstow,  gesehen :  und 
die  Korga  an  der  Mundung  des  Flusses  Anadir  sey  noch  sehr  weit 
davon  entfernet." 


MULLER'S  ACCOUNT  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE   279 

sea  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  new  rivers.  These  plans  were  not 
carried  out  on  account  of  the  death  of  Motora  who  lost  his  life  in  a 
fight  with  the  Anauli  in  1 651.  The  boats  were,  however,  made  use 
of  by  Deshnef  in  1652,  when  he  went  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  where 
he  noticed  on  the  north  side  a  sandbank  which  stretched  way  out  to 
sea.  Such  sandbanks  were  known  in  Siberia  as  korgas.  On  this 
sandbank  walrus  gathered  in  large  numbers.  Deshnef  succeeded  in 
finding  several  tusks  and  considered  himself  repaid  for  his  troubles. 

In  the  year  1653  Deshnef  had  timber  cut  intending  to  build  a 
kotsh  on  which  to  take  his  tribute  to  Jakutsk  by  sea  but  not  having 
the  other  necessary  materials  the  plan  was  not  carried  out.  It  was 
also  reported  that  the  sea  in  the  neighborhood  of  Chukotski  Nos  is 
not  every  year  free  from  ice. 

A  second  voyage  to  the  sandbank  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  wal- 
rus tusks  took  place  in  the  year  1654.  Among  others  there  came 
Iuschko  Selivestrof,  one  of  the  recently  arrived  Cossacks  from  Jak- 
utsk, and  who  had  been  with  Michaelo  Staduchin  on  his  sea-voyage 
and  who  was  sent  by  him  to  Jakutsk  to  ask  for  authorization  to  col- 
lect walrus  tusks  as  tribute.  In  this  mission  he  was  successful.  In 
the  instructions  he  is  ordered  to  force  the  payment  of  tribute  from  the 
people  who  live  on  the  Anaduir  as  well  as  those  who  inhabit  the 
Tschendon,  a  stream  that  flows  into  the  Penjinsk  Bay.  This  was 
probably  done  because  at  Jakutsk  nothing  was  known  of  Deshnef. 
Bad  feeling  broke  out  at  once.  Selivestrof  claimed  for  himself  the 
discovery  of  the  sandbank,  saying  that  it  was  the  same  place  which 
he  and  Staduchin  saw  in  1649  on  their  voyage.  Deshnef  argued  that 
this  could  not  be  the  case  because  they  had  never  come  as  far  as 
Chukotski  Nos,  which  is  very  rocky  and  on  which  Ankudinof's  kotsh 
was  wrecked.  "This  promontory,"  says  he,  "is  not  the  first  one 
which  presents  itself  and  which  it  known  as  Sviatoi  Nos.  Chukotski 
Nos  is  identified  by  the  islands  opposite  to  it  on  which  live  people  with 
pieces  of  walrus  tusks  in  their  lips.  These  people  Deshnef  saw  but 
Staduchin  and  Selivestrof  did  not  see.  The  sandbank  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Anaduir  is  a  long  way  from  these  islands." 


280  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Als  Deschnew  sich  zu  gleicher  Zeit  auch  langst  der  Seekiiste  urn- 
sahe,  traf  er  Korjakische  Wohnungen  an,  und  in  denselben  eine  Jaku- 
tin,  die  er  kannte,  dass  sie  dem  Fedot  Alexeew  zugehoret  hatte.  Er 
fragte  sie,  wo  ihr  Herr  sey.  Sie  antwortete :  "Fedot  und  Gerasim 
(Ankudinow)  seyen  am  Scorbut  gestorben;  andere  von  ihrer  Gesell- 
schaft  seyen  erschlagen  worden.  Einige  wenige  hatten  sich  auf 
kleinen  Fahrzuegen  durch  die  Flucht  gerettet,  ohne  dass  man  wisse, 
was  weiter  mit  ihnen  vorgefallen."  Von  diesen  letzten  hat  man 
nachmals  Spuren  auf  Kamtschatka  entdecket,  wohin  sie  bey  gunstigem 
Winde  und  Wetter,  indem  sie  den  Kiisten  gefolget,  und  zuletzt  in  den 
Fluss  Kamtschtka  eingeschlagen,  gekommen  seyn  miissen. 

Als  Wolodimer  Atlassow  im  Jahre  1697  zu  der  Eroberung  des 
Landes  Kamtschatka  den  Grund  legte,  waren  die  Russen  den  doerti- 
gen  Einwohnern  schon  bekannt.  Es  ist  eine  unter  den  Kamtsche- 
dalen  gemeine  Sage,  dass  lange  vor  Atlassow  ein  gewisser  Fedotow, 
der  wahrscheinlicher  weise  des  Fedot  Alexeews  Sohn  gewesen,  mit 
einigen  seiner  Cameraden,  unter  ihnen  gewohnet,  und  sich  mit  ihren 
Kamtschedalinnen  verheirathet  habe.  Sie  zeigen  noch  den  Ort  der 
Russischen  Wohnungen,  an  der  Miindung  des  in  den  Kamtschatka 
fallenden  kleinen  Flusses  Nikul,  der  deshalb  auf  Russisch  Fedoticha 
genennet  wird.  Es  ist  aber  schon  bey  Atlassows  Ankunft  niemand 
von  diesen  ersten  Russen  in  Kamtschatka  mehr  ubrig  gewesen.  Sie 
sollen  so  angesehen  und  geehrt  gewesen  seyn,  dass  man  sie  fast  ver- 
gottert  habe.  Man  hat  nicht  geglaubt,  dass  eine  menschliche  Hand 
ihnen  schaden  konne:  nachdem  aber  die  Russen  unter  sich  selbst  in 
Streit  gerathen ;  nachdem  einer  den  andern  verwundet,  und  die  Kamt- 
schedalen  das  Blut  von  ihnen  fliessen  sehen ;  nachdem  sie  sich  von 
einander  getrennet,  und  einige  von  ihnen  der  Penschinskischen  See 
iibergezogen :  so  sind  alle  theils  von  den  Kamtschedalen,  theils  von  den 
Korjaken,  erschlagen  worden.  Der  Fluss  Fedoticha  fallt  in  den 
Fluss  Kamtschatka  von  der  Siidlichen  Seite,  180  Werste  unterhalb 
Werchnei  Kamtschatskoi  Ostrog.  An  demselben  waren  noch  zur  Zeit 
der  ersten  Kamtschazkischen  Expedition  die  Ueberbleibsel  von  zwey 
Simowien,  worin  Fedotow  mit  sienen  Gefahrten  gewohnet  haben  soil, 
zu  sehen ;  nur  das  hat  niemand  zu  sagen  gewust,  durch  welchen  Weg 
diese  ersten  Russen  nach  Kamtschatka  gekommen.  Das  ist  ober- 
wehnter  maassen  nicht  eher,  als  im  Jahre  1736  durch  die  Jakutskischen 
Archiv-Schriften  bekannt  worden. 


MULLER'S  ACCOUNT  OF  DESHNEF'S  VOYAGE  281 

While  Deshnef  was  exploring  the  coast  he  came  across  a  Koriak 
village  where  he  recognized  a  Jakut  woman  who  had  belonged  to 
Fedot  Alexeef.  He  made  inquiries  regarding  her  master  and  she 
told  him  that  "Fedot  and  Gerasim  [Ankudinof]  died  of  scurvy;  other 
members  of  the  party  were  killed;  and  a  few  escaped  in  small  boats 
and  have  not  been  heard  from."  Of  these  last  named  traces  have 
been  found  in  Kamchatka,  for  with  the  help  of  fair  wind  and  good 
weather  and  by  following  the  coast  they  must  have  come  to  the  Kam- 
chatka River. 

When  Vladimir  Atlasof  began  his  conquest  of  Kamchatka  in  1697 
the  Russians  were  already  known  to  the  natives  of  that  country.  It 
was  a  common  report  among  the  Kamchadels  that  long  before  the 
coming  of  Atlasof  a  certain  Fedotof,  most  likely  a  son  of  Fedot 
Alexeef,  with  several  companions  lived  among  them  and  intermarried 
with  them.  They  even  point  to  the  spot  where  the  Russians  had 
their  homes,  at  the  mouth  of  the  small  River  Nikul,  which  falls  into 
the  Kamchatka,  and  which  is  called  in  Russian  Fedoticha.  By  the 
time  of  Atlasof's  arrival  none  of  these  first  Russians  was  alive.  It 
is  reported  that  they  were  respected  and  honored  and  revered  as 
divine.  It  was  not  believed  that  a  human  hand  could  harm  them. 
But  it  was  not  long  before  the  Russians  began  quarreling  and  fight- 
ing among  themselves  until  blood  flowed  from  their  wounds.  All 
this  the  natives  noted.  Later  the  Russians  separated,  some  of 
them  going  to  the  Penjinsk  Sea.  In  time  they  were  all  attacked  and 
killed  either  by  the  Kamchadels  or  the  Koriaks.  The  River  Fedoticha 
falls  into  the  Kamchatka  River  from  the  south  and  is  about  one  hun- 
dred eighty  versts  below  the  Upper  Kamchatka  Ostrog.  At  the 
time  of  the  First  Kamchatka  Expedition  there  was  to  be  seen  at  this 
spot  the  remains  of  the  two  habitations  where  Fedotof  with  his  com- 
panions lived.  But  before  1736,  when  these  facts  were  discovered  in 
the  Jakutsk  archives,  no  one  knew  how  these  first  Russians  came  here. 


APPENDIX  B 

DESHNEF'S  REPORT524 

In  the  year  1648,  June  20,  I,  Semeon,  was  sent  from  the  Kovima 
River  to  the  new  river  to  the  Anaduir  to  find  new,  non-tribute  paying 
peoples.  And  in  the  year  1648,  September  20,  in  going  from  the 
Kovima  River  to  sea,  at  a  place  where  we  stopped,  the  Chukchi  in  a 
fight  wounded  the  trader,  Fedot  Alexeef,  and  that  Fedot  was  carried 
out  with  me  to  sea,  and  I  do  not  know  where  he  is,  and  I  was  carried 
about  here  and  there  helplessly  until  after  October  1,  and  I  was 
thrown  up  on  the  beach  on  the  forward  end  [perednei  konez]  of  the 
Anaduir  River.  We  were  in  all  twenty-five  on  the  kotsh,  and  we  all 
took  to  the  hills,  not  knowing  which  way  to  go  [or,  not  knowing  the 
way].  We  were  cold  and  hungry,  naked  and  barefooted,  and  I, 
poor  Semeon,  and  my  companions  went  to  the  Anaduir  in  exactly  ten 
weeks,  reaching  that  stream  low  down  near  the  sea.  We  were  unable 
to  catch  fish,  there  was  no  wood,  and  on  account  of  hunger  we  sep- 
arated. And  twelve  men  went  for  twenty  days  up  the  Anaduir  with- 
out seeing  human  beings  and  reindeer  or  native  trails,  and  turned 
back.  And  when  they  had  come  within  three  days  of  camp  they 
made  a  halt.  [They  were  never  heard  of  again.]  And  out  of  the 
twenty-five  we  were  left  twelve,  and  we  went  up  the  Anaduir  in 
boats  and  met  with  the  Anauli  people. 

To  go  from  the  Kovima  to  the  Anaduir  by  sea  there  is  a  cape 
stretching  far  out  into  the  sea,  and  not  the  cape  which  lies  off  the 
Chukchi  River.  To  that  cape  Michaelo  Staduchin  did  not  come. 
Opposite  that  cape  are  two  islands,  and  on  one  of  these  islands  live 
Chukchi,  who  have  pieces  of  walrus  tusks  in  their  lips.  That  cape 
lies  between  north  and  northeast  [polunoshnik]  ;  and  on  the  Russian 
side  of  the  cape  there  is  a  small  river.  The  Chukchi  have  a  tower 
of  whale  bone;  and  the  cape  turns  around  to  the  Anaduir.  In  a 
good  run  one  can  go  from  the  cape  to  the  Anaduir  in  three  days  and 
no  longer,  and  to  go  by  land  to  the  river  it  is  no  farther,  because  the 

524  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  7. 


JO    TOli    AHaHJbipU     ptKH  II  40  TOil     KOjHTI,     HTO  |!  •'M'fe.IH,     II     HH03eMUI»l    lOBOpflTX  :    lie    no    BCfl    4 

tbohmx  roc\4apeBbiMT>  CMaoTbCMt  upiucKa.ui  Mbi  '  ro4bi  .i4bi  otx  <5eperx)BX  othochtx   bx  Mope  ;  a 


\o.ionn  ii  cnpoTbi  tboh,  h  40  Toro  MtcTa  Mu- 
xaii.io GrajvxHHX  ex  TOBapbiaju  He  40x0411.1a, 
noTOMy ,  rocy4apb ,  3HaTHo,  mto  bt.  npoia.ioMX 
bo  157  rojy  ex  Ko.ibiMi.i  p-feKii  x04H.1t  Maxaii- 
.10  CTa4yxiiHT>  Mope.ux  Bnepe4T>  Ha  ITorbiiy  pt- 
kv,  a  ex  Mopn  npHine.n>  ohx  bo  158  ro4y  ceH- 
Tflopn  bx  .  .  4eHb ,  h  nnea.rb  ohx  Muxaii.io  ex 

Ko.IblMbI  pXKHBX  jlKyTUKOU  OCTpOfb  KX  TBOHMX 

rocy4apcBbiMT.  BoeB04aMx,  mto  dtiKa.rx  40  ohx 
Muxaii.io  MopeMT.  Bnepe4x  ceMepw  cyTKH,  a  pt- 
kii  4e  ho  uame.ix  HHKaKoii ,  naiue.rx  4e  out> 
Muxaii.io  ne6o.ibaiaxx  .iK>4eii  KopauKiixx  11 
>i3i,ikobx  4C  nepeHMa.rb  ,  a  hh  pocnpocl;  hsmkii 
«Ka3a.iH  ,.mto  Bnepe4t  4e  .no4eii  Miioro  ecn. ,  a 

pt.KII   4C  QHH    lie  3HaiOTT.    HHKaKOH  ,   H    OHX     Mh- 

xaii.io  ex  TOBapsiiHH  BopoTiLiucb  11333411  bx 
Ko.ibiMy  p+.Ky;  a  Bnepe.it  Toro  M'l.cTa  ccti.  na- 
Mennoii  hocx  Co.imoii ,  Bbiiue.n>  bx  Mope  4a- 
.i«ko  11  .iK)4eii  Ha  iicmx  4o6pt  unoro ,  a  npo- 
tubx  Toro  nocy  ecTb  octjkhmi  bx  uopt,  a  11a 
ooTpoBaxi.  .iH)4eii  4o6pi   MHoro  «kx  ,   a  mi>i  cu- 

pOThl  TBOH,  KOTOpbies6.bl.IH  CX  Ce.MeHOMX  J.eHC- 
IK'BI.IMX,  TOTX  Ka.ML'HHoii  HOCX  II  OCTpOBI.I  3IiaOMX 
II    .1104011     BU4XM  U  ,     a.  He  TOTX  HOCX,     HTO    OCTI. 

ncpBoii  Cbhtou  hocx  on  Ko.ii.imm  pt.KH ,  a 
Anan.ii.ijti.  piiha  on,  toio  Jio.u.uioro  nocy  11 
<ni.  0cTp01101n.4a.1eK0;  4a  bx  upoui.ioM  1, ,  rocy- 
.iapi,,  110  162,  ro4y  oxoMeii  c.iyjKHBOii  ho.io- 
11 1.Ki.  lOpi.H  Ce.iHBepcroB'b  iiiica.n.  in.  HwvrcKoii 
oeYporx  ex  AHaH4bipa,  kx  tbohmx  rocy4apc- 
bmmx  BoeB04airb ,  ex  npoMi»iai.ieai>iMx  mciobI;- 

KOMT,     CX  OBCpKOK)     MapTOIbflHOBblMX  ,      MTO   40 

to  mxcto  npevKx   cero  npoBl.4a.1x    onx   K)pi>a. 
A   bo  161   ro4y  mm  CeMeaKa  h 

MllKHTKa   CX  TOBapblUlll  .itcX  406bIJH,  a  XOTXMH 

ex  rocy4apeBOK)  Ka3iioio  oTnycTHTb  MopeMx  bx 
Hkyukoh  ocTporx,  h  H3x  Ce.MeaKa  ex  TOBapw- 
uui  to  BT.4a<'Mx,  mto  Mope  oo.iiuoe  h  cy.ioii  Be. 111- 
hie  o  3om.ho  O.1H3K0,  6e3i,  4o6poii  cuacTii  cv40- 


ropow  iepe3x  KaMCHb  rocy4apeBbi  KasHbi  ct,  ue- 

BC1HKHMH  .1K)4MH  iepe3X  MHOrie  HOflca  HHI.ie  .1K>- 
4H  J)031lbI>X  p040BX  BblC.iaTb  He  CMT..1H,   nOTOMV 

oi.nx  bx  rocy/iapeBt  uca.ioBaiibt,  utica.TX  4c  ohx 
lOpi.a    bx  flKyuKoii   ocipoix,  mto  t>    uopiy  11 

MOpCKOrO  3BT>pH  H  3aMOpiiyK)    KOCTb    3BXpH    TOIO 

npiacKa.ix  obx  K)pbfl  npeacx  cef  0 ,  uanx  5u.ix 
rx  Muxafi.ioMx  CTa4yxHHbiMx ,  a  ae  «w  ciywa^ 
sue   h    npoMi.iiii.ioHi.ic  jh)4h  ;  h  to  ohx  nacajix 

JOJKUO, 

noTomy  mto  hc  40X04H.IX 
ohx  Muxaiijo  40  Bo.iuioi  o  Kanienuoro  Hocy,  a 
totx  hocx  Bbiuiejx  bx  Mope  ropa340  4aaeK0,  a 
avHByTx  Ha  HeMx  .,110411  HyxMH  4o6pii  Maoro, 
npoTHBX  TorojKX  Hocy  aa  ocTpoBaxx  /KHByTX 
.110411,  Ha3biBaioTx  iixx  3y6aTbi.MH,  noTOMy  mto 
npoHHSiaioTx  ohh  cKB03b  ry6y  no  4Ba  3y6a  ncMa- 
.ibixx  KOCTHHbix-b,  a  ue  totx,  mto  ecTb.nepBoii 
CBflToii  hocx  otx  Ko.ibiMM,  a  totx  Eo-iuioii  aocx 
Mbi  CeAieiiKa  ex  TOBapbiiua  3Hae.>ix ,  aoTOMy  mto 
po36n.io  y  toi  o  aocy  cv4ao  cjyH<iiBoro  mciobt;- 
Ka  Epacn>ia  0iiKy4HH0Ba  ex  TOBapbimH ,  h  mm 
Genei'iKa  ex  TOBapwuia  ttjxx  po36oiiabixx  aio- 
4ea  HMa.iii  aa  cboh  cy4bi,  u  tIjxx  3y6aTbixx  .110- 
4eii  aa  oeTpoBy  Bu4t.n1  >kx,  a  otx  Toro  nocy  Ta 
AuaH4bipb  ptna  u  Kopra  4ajeK«. 
HBanoBx  4eHnieBXMC.ioMx()i.eTX.  Bx  npoui.ioMi. 
bo  156  ro4y,  iwiifl  bx  20  4011b,  ex  Kobi.i.mxi  pk- 
kh  noc.iaux  n  CoMoiiKa  aa  hobjio  ptKV  11a  Aaau- 
4bipx  4.ifl  apiucKy  hobi.ixx  neacaMiii.ixT,  .110- 
4eii.  H  bx  npoai.ioMx  vice  bo  157  nuy,  sitcana 
ceuTflfipii  bx  20  40111.,  luyMii  ct.  Kobwmi.i  ptku 
siopcMb,  aa  npncraiiHiul.  Topronoro  MO.ioukKa 
0e4OTa  A.ieKctona  Mvxomi.h  no  111  aa  4|>aK'fc  pa- 
iiii.in,  a  Toro  0e4OTa  co  mihuO  Omoukoio  aa 
iwopt  po3iiec.io  0031.  iittTU  ,  a  iiota.io  moiim  Ctf- 
MeiiKv  110  MopH)  1100.it  Houpoita  I>oi'0[kuhiii>i 
new.  la  ihmio.icio.  11  ni.iopocn.10  11a  oopori.  BT,  nc- 
piMiioii  ko.ioht.  3a  Aaaii4i.ipT,  pticv;  a  (iw.10 
iiaci.  na  nonii  Bi-txx  iBaman.    mm.    mo.iob1.ki.. 


Boii,  u  6e3b  4o6poro  napyca  u  HKopa  ,  htth  ue 

Facsimile  of  extracts  from  Deshnef's  Report 
[Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  7] 


,i  iioiii.ih  Mbi  Bcfc  bi.  ropy,  c;imh  hvtm  reoB  u«' 
nia«'Mi. ,  xo.io^Hbi  h  ro.io.un.i ,  ii.n  u  ii  Socm  ,  a 
men.  >i  o-fe^Hoii  CcMi'HKa  n,  roB.ipi.iiim  AO 
\n.in  u.ipi.i  pf.Kii  poBiio  .iccflTi,  iiCA'l>.<b,  ii  nona- 

III    11,1    Allilll.ll.ipi.    pliKV     BIIII3V    6.1H3KO    MOpjl  ,     II 

pi.ini.i  .looiiiTh  Hi'  Mor.m,  .it.cy  hI;tx,  h  cb  ro.io- 
.i\  mm  dli.iin.ie    npo3iu.    po:iopo.iiifh.    M    BiiepxT. 

illl   All.lll.U.ipt.    IIOIII.IO    .lllf.ll,l,IH«1TI.    HC.IOBf.K1.  ,    11 

\ o.iu.i it  .iB.i.m.rrh  .it'in.,  .iio.ieii  ii  api-ninnnm., 
lopoii.  inio.3eMCKli\x,  lie  BH.ia.1ll,  ll  BOpOTH.lHCI, 
na3a.li.  u  He  ioiue.ri.-3a   tjih  .uiiinia   .10   crany 

niiHOMt'Ba.lUCl.* 

A  ocTa.iooi.  naci,  orb  ARa.mam 

11)1  III   Mf.lollJ.KT.    BCt'IO     liaCL      lit  1.11.1111,11  I.     MP.10— 

ii!.M.,  ii  uoiii.iit  mm  iBl.iia.iuan.  hcioh'Ihci.  b'i. 
ry  i,i\i.  Biicpvi.  no  Allan. ii.ipl;  pt,Kl; ,  ii  UI.M  u> 
Aiia\.irKii\  i.  .iio.km'i  ,  >  A  cb  KoBbi- 

Mbl     pf.KII      HTTH      MOpe.MT,    Ua     Ail,  III.  tl.  ip  I.     ptK\ 

octi.  nocb,  Bbiuie.iT.  bt.  Mope  4a.iCK0,  a  ne  tott. 

HOCb,   KOTOpoil    0TT>    lIyXOHbI    pliKII    .lOVKUTb,   JO 


Toro  noc\  .Muxaii.io  f/nuyxiuib  lie  40X04H.it>,  a 
npoTiuib  roro  hocv  ecTfc  4Ba  ocrpoBa,  a  narhxi. 
ocTpoBavi,  jKiinyn.  My\Mbi ,  a  Bpt3i.iBaiit.i  % 
iihxt.  3)oi.i,  npopl.3i>iitaiibi  ryow,  kocti.  pi.u'eii 

3JOT.,   a  .IOKIITT.  TOTb-IIOCI,    npoyiOJKT.  iTIBt'pi.  II. I 

iio.i\iioihiihkt.,  a  n  PycKyio  aropony  hoc  a  npii- 
3i'iaKa:  iii.iiu.ia  pt.HKa ,  craiiOBbC  tvtt.  y  Mwomi. 
.li.iaiio,  hid  oanniii  H3T.  Korni  KiiTOBoii,  n  not  l 
noBoporuT'b   i.pyi  o.Mb  Kb  Onaiubipl;  p'BK'l;  1104- 
.ler.io,  a  .looporo  nool.ry  orb  Hooa  ,io  Oiiaii.u.i- 
pn  pl.Kii  ipoii  ryiKii,  a  oo.rfc  HlVrb,  a  114TH  otl 
ocpt'iv  .10  pi.uii  iMMa.rl;,  iioroMy  mto  pl>Ka  A1.1a.n- 
.u.ipb  ua.ia  Bbiyoy.  A  bi.  npoiu.ioMbBo  .102  10.0. 
xojH.ib  n  CeMciiKa    bo3.it;   Mopa    bt.  noxojT. ,  h 
OTrpoMit.iT.  a  CeMeiiKa  v  KopaKOBT.   flKyrcicyio 
oafiy  OejoTa  A jeKchesa ,  h  Ta  6aoa  CKa3biBa.ta, 
•no  je  Oc.ioTT.  h  c.iy/KH.ioii  icioB-feKT.  repacH*n> 
noMep.iii  ubinroio ,  a  HHbie  TOBapbiuui  nooHTW, 
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.i04Kaxb  cb  0411010  4VUI0K),  He  3uaio  4e  K\4a.  A 


,11  a,  xojioni  TBoft,  c^  iihmii  TopiOBUMU  h  cb  npoiibiuueBBbiiia  JBOAfcun 
in.iii  aiopent,  ua  uith  Konaxi,  aeBjiHOCTO  HeaoBiKT;  n  npomerb  AHaH- 
iupcKoe  ycTbe,  cyac-an.  BoxiiiMi  it  nauin  bcb  koih  nope  pa36a.uo,  11 
t±xt>  TOproBhixb  11  npoMLiuiJieBHHXT.  .ifft^eri  ott.  Toro  MopcKoro  pa300K»  aa  Mopi 
noi(ou)yjo  11  ua  ryHAp'B  on.  BH03eimoBi.  nofiiiTuxi.  (sic),  a  HBue  tojioahoio 
cjjepxi.H)  Bosiepan.  liroro  BCtxi.  inrnCjo  64  neJiOBtKu  (ji.  6). 

..A  a,  xojoht.  tbom,  ott.  Ttxi.  TOBapiiineil  cbohx^  ocTaaca  Bcero  ABaT- 
uaTLK>  "leiupMii  He-iOBtKii,  11  rfcxT.  lOBapmueH  mouxt.  3HMHBMT.  nyreMT. 
Ha  JiuiKaxi,,  cv  uapiu, — co  ctluii  (ro-ecri.— cTy^a,  CTyaui),  u  31.  rojiojiy  11  co  bch 
koS-  Hyaiii,  ueAQuieit  AnaHiHpfl  piiui,  ;ioporcio  Bxyne  12  qeAOBiici  Ce3- 
B'tciBO  He  ciaio.  A«,xojou'bTBoii,  aa  AaaHAupi.  ptKy  AOBOJiOKca  Bcero 
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roao.iuoio  CMepxtio  noMepeTt,  xoahji  »,  xcjioiit.  tboii,  \n>  uoxoat.  kt>  KaHayjib- 

CiiUM'L    B    &T>   XOAUDCKHl^   He    KT>   hCU'lUUMT.   liy;UHK0Ml.    II   EOJKJeK)   MBJOC'lilO 


Facsimile  of  extracts  from  Deshnef's  Report 
[Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol,  iv,  doc.  7  and  Zhurnal  Ministerstva  Narodnavo 

Prosveschenia,  December,  1890,  303] 


DESHNEF'S  REPORT  287 

Anaduir  falls  into  a  bay.  In  the  year  1654  in  a  fight  I  captured 
from  the  Koriaks  a  Jakut  woman  belonging  to  Fedot  Alexeef,  and 
she  said  that  Fedot  and  Gerasim  died  of  scurvy,  some  of  their  com- 
panions were  killed,  and  the  few  who  remained  escaped  in  boats  with 
their  lives,  and  she  did  not  know  what  became  of  them. 

DESHNEF,  1662  525 

And  I,  your  servant,  with  these  hunters  and  traders  went  to  sea  on 
six  kotshi,  ninety  persons;  and  having  passed  the  mouth  of  the  An- 
aduir, by  the  will  of  God  all  these  our  kotshi  were  broken  [wrecked] 
at  sea  [yse  nashi  kotshi  more  razbilo],  and  of  all  these  hunters  and 
traders  some  were  drowned  in  this  wreck,  others  were  killed  by  the 
natives  on  the  tundra,  and  others  died  of  hunger,  altogether  sixty- 
four  (64)  persons  lost  their  lives. 

And  I,  your  servant,  was  left  with  twenty-four  men  [it  may  also 
mean  twenty-four  in  all]  and  with  these  companions  I  started  on 
sleds  and  snow  shoes,  suffering  cold,  hunger,  and  want  of  other  ne- 
cessities before  reaching  the  Anaduir.  On  the  way  twelve  men  dis- 
appeared without  our  knowing  what  became  of  them.  And  I  reached 
the  Anaduir  with  twelve  men,  and  with  these,  not  wishing  to  die  of 
hunger,  went  to  fight  against  the  Kanauli  and  Chodinski  peoples, 
but  not  against  those  who  pay  tribute. 

VETOSHKA  AND  COMPANIONS  526 

Staduchin  had  never  been  to  the  Anaduir  River  or  to  the  Korga 
which  we  have  discovered.  He  had  not  been  there  because  in  1649 
Staduchin  went  to  sea  from  the  Koluima  to  the  Pogicha  River  and 
returned  from  sea  in  September,  1650,  and  reported  from  Koluima 
to  Jakutsk  that  he  was  out  at  sea  seven  days  and  found  no  river  but 
met  a  few  Koriaks  and  had  captured  some  interpreters,  and,  upon 
inquiry,  they  said  that  they  knew  of  no  river,  but  there  were  many 
people  to  the  eastward.  Staduchin  then  came  back  to  the  Koluima. 
Beyond  that  place  there  is  a  Large  Stone  Cape  [Kamennoi  Nos 
Bolshoi]  which  runs  far  out  to  sea,  and  many  people  live  on  it,  and 
opposite  that  cape  are  islands  in  the  sea  with  many  inhabitants,  and 
we  your  servants,  who  were  with  Semeon  Deshnef,  know  that  cape 


525  Zhumal  Minister st'v a  Narodnavo  Prosveschenia,  December,  1890,  303. 

526  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  6. 


288  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

and  islands  and  saw  the  people.  It  is  not  that  cape  which  is  the  first 
Sviatoi  Nos  from  the  Koluima  River,  and  from  the  Anaduir  River  to 
that  Large  Cape  and  islands  is  far.  In  1654  tne  hunter  Yurya 
Selivestrof  wrote  to  Jakutsk  from  the  Anaduir  to  your  woewods  - 
that  it  was  he  and  not  we  who  first  discovered  that  place -Yurya 
formerly  went  to  sea  with  Staduchin,  and  this  Staduchin  was  a  long 
way  from  the  Anaduir. 

DESHNEFAND  SEMENOF527 

In  the  year  1654  Selivestrof  sent  secretly  a  letter  to  Jakutsk  .  .  . 
saying  that  he  found  the  Korga,  the  sea-animals,  and  the  walrus 
tusks,  when  he  was  with  Michaelo  Staduchin,  and  not  we  .  .  . 
Michaelo  Staduchin  did  not  come  as  far  as  the  Bolshoi  Kamennoi 
Nos,  and  that  nos  stretches  out  a  long  distance  into  the  sea,  and  on 
this  nos  live  many  Chukchi.  On  the  islands  opposite  that  nos  live 
people.  They  are  called  Zubati,  because  they  insert  in  their  lips  two 
small  bones.  It  is  not  the  cape  which  is  the  first  Sviatoi  Nos  from 
the  Koluima,  but  that  Bolshoi  Nos  we,  Semeon  and  companions,  know, 
because  on  that  cape  was  wrecked  the  boat  of  Erasim  Ankudinof  and 
party,  and  we,  Semeon  and  companions,  took  these  wrecked  people 
on  our  boats,  and  saw  the  Zubati  people  on  the  island,  and  from  that 
nos  to  the  Anaduir  is  far. 

In  the  year  1653  we,  Semeon,  Mikita,  and  companions,  cut  down 
timber  and  wished  to  go  with  the  tribute  to  Jakutsk  by  sea.  And  I, 
Semeon,  and  companions,  seeing  that  the  seas  were  heavy  and  rough 
near  the  shore,  and  not  having  the  proper  ship's  tools,  good  anchors, 
and  nails,  we  did  not  dare  to  go.  The  natives  said  that  it  is  not 
every  year  that  the  shores  are  free  from  ice;  we  could  not  send  the 
tribute  across  the  mountains  on  account  of  the  hostile  natives. 


527  Dopolnenia  K  Aktam  Istoricheskim,  vol.  iv,  doc.  7. 


APPENDIX  C 
TRAITE  DE  NERTCHINSK 528 

1.  La  riviere  nominee  Kerbetchi,  qui  est  la  plus  proche  de  la  ri- 
viere Chorna,  apellee  en  Tartare  Ourouon,  et  qui  se  decharge  dans 
le  fleuve  Saghalien  oula,  servira  de  bornes  aux  deux  Empires,  et  cette 
longue  chaine  de  montagnes,  qui  est  au-dessous  de  la  source  de  ladite 
riviere  de  Kerbetchi,  et  qui  s'etend  jusqu'a  la  mer  orientale,  servira 
aussi  de  bornes  entre  les  deux  Empires :  ensorte  que  toutes  les  rivieres, 
ruisseaux  grands  ou  petits  qui  coulent  de  la  partie  meridionale  de  ces 
montagnes,  et  vont  se  jeter  dans  le  fleuve  de  Saghalien  oula,  et  toutes 
les  terres  et  pays  qui  sont  au  sud  du  sommet  desdites  montagnes, 
apartiendront  a  l'Empire  de  la  Chine,  et  que  toutes  les  terres,  pays, 
rivieres  et  ruisseaux  qui  sont  de  l'autre  cote  du  sommet  des  autres 
montagues  s'etendant  vers  le  nord,  demeureront  a  l'Empire  de  Mos- 
covie,  avec  cette  clause  neanmoins  que  tout  le  pays  qui  est  immediate- 
ment  entre  ladite  chaine  de  montagnes  et  la  riviere  nommee  Oudi, 
demeurera  indecis,  jusqu'  a  ce  que  les  Ambassadeurs  des  deux  partis 
etant  retounez  dans  leur  pays,  ayent  pris  les  informations  et  les  con- 
noissances  necessaires  pour  traiter  de  cet  article,  apres  quoi  on  decidera 
l'affaire,  ou  par  les  Ambassadeurs,  ou  par  les  lettres. 

De  plus,  la  riviere  nommee  Ergone,  qui  se  decharge  aussi  dans  le 
fleuve  Saghalien  ou  la,  servira  des  bornes  entre  les  deux  Empires: 
ensorte  que  toutes  les  terres  et  pays  qui  sont  au  sud  de  ladite  riviere 
d'Ergone  apartiendront  a  l'Empereur  de  la  Chine:  et  tout  ce  qui  est 
au  nord  demeurera  a  l'Empire  de  Moscovie.  Toutes  les  maisons  et 
habitations  qui  sont  presentement  au  sud  de  ladite  riviere  d'Ergone 
a  Tembouchure  de  la  riviere  de  Meritken,  seront  transporters  de 
l'autre  cote  sur  le  bord  septentrional  de  l'Ergone. 

2.  La  fortresse  batie  par  les  Moscovites  dans  le  lieu  nomme  Yacsa, 
sera  entierement  demolie,  et  tous  les  sujets  de  l'Empire  de  Moscovie 

528  Du  Halde,  J.  B.  Description  .  .  .  de  la  Chine  (A  La  Haye,  1736), 
tome  iv,  242.  -  Orig. 


APPENDIX  C 
TREATY  OF  NERTCHINSK 529 

1.  The  river  named  Kerbechi,  which  is  next  to  the  River  Shorna, 
called,  in  Tartarian,  Urwon,  and  falls  into  the  Saghalian,  shall  serve 
for  bounds  to  both  empires :  and  that  long  chain  of  mountains  which 
is  below  the  source  of  the  said  River  Kerbechi,  and  extends  as  far  as 
the  Eastern  Sea,  shall  serve  also  as  bounds  to  both  empires ;  insomuch 
that  all  the  rivers  and  brooks,  great  or  small,  which  rise  on  the  south- 
ern side  of  those  mountains,  and  fall  into  Saghalian,  with  all  the 
lands  and  countries  from  the  top  of  the  said  mountains  southward 
shall  belong  to  the  Empire  of  China;  and  all  the  lands,  countries, 
rivers  and  brooks  which  are  on  the  other  side  of  the  other  mountains 
extending  northward,  shall  remain  to  the  Empire  of  Russia;  with 
this  restriction  nevertheless,  that  all  countries  lying  between  the  said 
chain  of  mountains  and  the  River  Udi  shall  continue  undecided,  till 
the  ambassadors  of  both  powers  on  their  return  home  shall  have  got- 
ten proper  informations  and  instructions  to  treat  of  this  article ;  after 
which  the  affair  shall  be  decided  either  by  amdassadors  or  letters. 
Moreover,  the  River  Ergone,  which  falls  also  into  the  Saghalian  ula, 
shall  serve  for  bounds  to  the  two  empires;  so  that  all  the  lands  and 
countries  lying  to  the  south  thereof  shall  appertain  to  the  Emperor 
of  China,  and  whatever  lies  to  the  north  of  it  shall  remain  to  the 
Empire  of  Russia.  All  the  houses  and  dwellings,  which  are  at  pres- 
ent to  the  south  of  the  said  Ergone  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Merit- 
ken,  shall  be  removed  to  the  north  side  of  the  Ergone. 

2.  The  fortress  built  by  the  Russians,  in  the  place  called  Yaksa, 
shall  be  entirely  demolished,  and  all  the  subjects  of  the   Empire  of 


529  Du  Halde,  J.  B.     Description  of  the  Empire  of  China  (London,  1741), 
vol.  ii,  314-315. 


292  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

qui  demeurent  dans  ladite  fortresse,  seront  ramenez  avec  tous  leurs 
cffets  sur  les  terres  apartenantes  a  la  couronne  de  Moscovie. 

Les  chasseurs  des  deux  Empires  ne  pouront,  pour  quelque  cause 
que  ce  soit,  passer  au-dela  de  ces  bornes  ainsi  determinees. 

Que  s'il  arive  qu'une  ou  deux  personnes  de  petite  consequence 
fassent  quelques  excursions  au-dela  des  limites,  soit  pour  chasser,  soit 
pour  voler  ou  piller,  on  les  prendra  aussi-tot,  et  on  les  menera  aux 
Gouverneurs  et  aux  Officiers  etablis  sur  les  frontieres  des  deux  Em- 
pires, et  lesdites  Gouverneurs  informez  de  la  qualite  du  crime,  les 
puniront  comme  ils  le  meriteront. 

Que  si  des  gens  assemblez  jusqu'au  nombre  de  six  ou  de  quinze 
vont  en  armes  chasser  ou  piller  sur  les  terres  qui  sont  au-dela  de  leurs 
limites,  ou  s'ils  tuent  quelques  sujets  de  l'autre  couronne,  on  en  in- 
formera  les  Empereurs  des  deux  Empires,  et  tous  ceux  qui  seront 
trouvez  coupables  de  ce  crime,  seront  punis  de  mort,  et  on  ne  suscitera 
point  de  guerre  pour  quelque  exces  que  ce  puisse  etre  de  personnes 
particulieres,  beaucoup  moins  agira-t-on  par  voye  de  fait  en  repandant 
du  sang. 

3.  Tout  ce  qui  s'est  passe  jusqu'  a  present,  de  quelque  nature 
qu'il  puisse  etre,  sera  enseveli  dans  un  eternel  oubli. 

4.  Depuis  le  jour  que  cette  paix  eternelle  entre  les  deux  Empires 
aura  ete  juree,  on  ne  recevra  aucun  transfuge  ou  deserteur  de  part  ni 
d'autre:  mais  si  quelque  sujet  d'un  des  deux  Empires  s'enfuit  dans  les 
terres  de  l'autre,  il  sera  aussi-tot  pris  et  renvoye. 

5.  Tous  les  sujets  de  la  couronne  de  Moscovie,  qui  sont  presente- 
ment  dans  l'Empire  de  la  Chine,  et  tous  ceux  de  la  couronne  de  la 
Chine  qui  sont  presentement  dans  l'Empire  de  Moscovie,  demeureront 
dans  1'etat  ou  ils  sont. 

6.  Ayant  egard  au  present  traite  de  paix  et  d'union  reciproque 
entre  les  deux  couronnes,  toutes  sortes  de  personnes  de  quelque  con- 
dition qu'elles  puissent  etre,  pouront  aller  et  venir  reciproquement, 
avec  toute  sorte  de  liberte,  des  terres  sujettes  a  l'un  des  deux  Empires 
dans  celles  de  l'autre,  pourvu  qu'ils  ayent  des  patentes  par  lesquelles 
il  conste  qu'ils  viennent  avec  permission:  et  il  leur  sera  permis  de 
vendre  et  d'acheter  tout  ce  qu'ils  jugeront  a  propos,  et  de  faire  un 
commerce  reciproque. 


TREATY  OF  NERTCHINSK  293 

Russia,  now  dwelling  in  the  said  fortress,  shall  be  transported  with 
all  their  effects  upon  the  lands  appertaining  to  the  crown  of  Russia. 
The  hunters  of  the  respective  empires  may  not,  upon  any  account 
whatever,  pass  beyond  the  bounds  settled  as  above.  That  in  case  one 
or  two  ordinary  persons  should  happen  to  make  excursions  beyond 
the  limits,  either  to  hunt,  steal,  or  plunder,  they  shall  be  immediately 
seized  and  brought  before  the  governors  and  officers  established  on 
the  frontiers  of  both  empires;  and  the  said  governors  after  being  in- 
formed of  the  nature  of  the  crime,  shall  punish  them  according  to 
their  deserts.  That  if  people  assembled,  to  the  number  of  ten  or  fif- 
teen, shall  go  armed  to  hunt  or  pillage  on  the  land  beyond  their  limits, 
or  shall  kill  any  subject  belonging  to  either  crown,  the  emperors  of 
both  empires  shall  be  informed  thereof,  and  those  found  guilty  of  the 
crime  shall  be  put  to  death:  but  no  excess  whatever  committed  by 
private  persons  shall  kindle  a  war,  much  less  shall  blood  be  shed  by 
violent  means. 

3.  Every  thing  that  has  passed  hitherto,  of  what  nature  soever  it 
may  be,  shall  be  buried  in  everlasting  oblivion. 

4.  From  the  day  that  this  perpetual  peace  between  both  empires 
shall  be  sworn  to,  neither  side  shall  receive  any  fugitive  or  deserter: 
But  if  any  subject  of  either  empire  shall  fly  into  the  territories  of  the 
other,  he  shall  be  immediately  secured  and  sent  back. 

5.  All  the  subjects  of  the  crown  of  Russia,  who  are  at  present  in 
the  Empire  of  China,  and  all  those  belonging  to  the  crown  of  China 
who  are  in  the  Empire  of  Russia,  shall  remain  as  they  are. 

6.  Regard  being  had  to  the  present  Treaty  of  Peace  and  Mutual 
Union  between  the  two  crowns,  all  persons,  of  what  condition  soever 
they  be,  may  go  and  come  reciprocally,  with  full  liberty,  from  the 
territories  subject  to  either  empire  into  those  of  the  other,  provided 
they  have  passports  by  which  it  appears  that  they  come  with  permis- 
sion; and  they  shall  be  suffered  to  buy  and  sell  whatever  they  think 
fit,  and  carry  on  a  mutual  trade. 


APPENDIX  D529a 

EUROPEAN  OPINION  REGARDING  KOZIREFSKI 

Les  Nouvelles  de  Moscau  portent  qu'un  certain  religieux  nomme 
Ignace  Kosirevsky  est  arrive  de  Siberie  il  s'est  arreste  pendant  plu- 
sieurs  annees  a  Kamchatka  ou  il  a  fait  batir  le  couvent  des  Hermites. 
II  a  fait  aussi  plusieurs  recherches  dans  le  pais  et  hors  du  pais,  de 
sorte  qu'on  peut  esperer  de  lui  plusieurs  choses  de  ce  pais  tant  par 
rapport  a  l'histoire  qu'a  la  situation  aux  habitans  et  a  d'autres  par- 
ticularitez.  II  est  d'une  famille  pollonoise,  mais  ne  et  eleve  a  Iakut- 
skoi,  ou  son  grand  Pere  Fedor  Kosirevski  fut  envoye  en  esclavage  sous 
le  czaar  Alexe  Michalowitz  du  terns  des  guerres  avec  la  Pologne. 
Son  Pere  Pierre  Kosirevski  et  le  Religieux  Ignace  (qui  s'appeloit 
avant  que  d'entre  dans  l'ordre,  I  wan  Petrovitz  Kesirevski)  et  plu- 
sieurs autres  personnes  furent  envoiees  par  ordre  du  Dumnoi  Diak 
de  la  Pricase  Siberienne  Anore  [?]  Wimius,  par  le  Palatin  de 
Iakutskoi  Dorose  Traurnicht  dans  le  pais  de  Kamchatka  a  l'an  1700 
pour  reduire  sous  la  puissance  des  Russes  et  rendre  tributaires  tout 
les  habitans  du  pais  de  meme  que  ceux  des  pais  voisins.  Apres  done 
qu'ils  eurent  soumis  Les  Contrees  d'Anadirski  de  Kuracki  et  d'autres 
nations  qui  confinent  ils  pallissaderent  l'an  1702  dans  le  Kamchatka 
au  dessus  du  fleuve  de  ce  nom,  et  l'annee  suivante  au  dessous,  deux 
endroits  comme  ostrogs  (fortresses)  ou  ils  mirent  en  surete  les  tribus 
qu'ils  avoient  recus  jusques  la  et  mirent  en  otage  des  Sudskes  [  ?] 
nations  les  principaux  et  ceux  du  pais  de  Kamchatka.  Ils  appelerent 
la  premiere  astrog  (Pallisade)  Verkhnei  Kamchatskoi  Ostrog  et 
l'autre  Nishnei  Kamchatskoi  Ostrog;  mais  le  pere  Pierre  Kosirevski 
fut  tue,  l'an  1708  dans  une  isle  voisine.  Apres  cela  en  171 1,  1712, 
1 713  et  1714  Ignace  Kosirevski  recut  ordre  de  Iakutskoi  de  se  bien 
informer  des  limites  de  ces  pais  et  sur  tout  du  Kamchatkoi  Nos,  et 
des  isles  voisines  de  s'enquerir  sous  quelle  puissance  sont  toutes  les 
nations  qui  se  trouvent  la  et  d'obliger  a  payer  le  tribut  tous  ceux  qui 
n'ont  pas  proprem't  de  Souverain  et  de  s'informer  autant  qu'il  est 

529a  Delisle  Mss.,  no.  xxv,  2,  B. 


APPENDIX  D 

EUROPEAN  OPINION  REGARDING  KOZIREFSKI 

There  is  news  from  Moscow  that  a  monk  by  the  name  of  Ignatius 
Kozirefski  has  arrived  from  Siberia.  He  has  spent  many  years  in 
Kamchatka  where  he  built  a  convent  for  monks.  He  has  made  re- 
searches in  the  country  so  that  one  has  a  right  to  expect  important 
information  from  him  about  that  region,  inhabitants,  history  and 
other  subjects  connected  therewith.  He  is  of  a  Polish  family  but 
was  born  and  brought  up  at  Jakutsk  where  his  grandfather  Fedor 
Kozirefski  was  sent  as  a  slave  by  the  Czar  Alexe  Michaelowitz  in  the 
time  of  the  Polish  wars.  His  father  Peter  Kozirefski  and  the  monk 
Ignatius  (whose  name  before  becoming  a  monk  was  I  wan  Petrowitz 
Kozirefski)  and  many  others  were  ordered  by  the  Dumnoi  Diak  of 
the  Sibirski  Prikaz,  Anorei  [?]  Wimius,  through  the  woewod  [?] 
of  Jakutsk,  Dorosei  Traurnicht,  to  Kamchatka  about  the  year  1700 
to  reduce  to  Russian  subjection  and  tributaries  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Kamchatka  and  of  the  neighboring  countries.  After  having  subdued 
the  Koriaks  and  the  other  tribes  of  the  Anaduir  region  they  built  a 
fort  in  the  year  1702  in  Kamchatka  on  the  headwaters  of  the  river 
of  that  name.  The  following  year  they  put  up  one  lower  down  that 
stream.  In  these  two  ostrogs  they  placed  for  safe  keeping  the  tribute 
which  they  had  collected  up  to  that  time  also  the  principal  men  of 
the  Sudski  [Chukchi  (  ?)]  and  Kamchadels  as  hostages.  They  named 
the  first  fort  Upper  Kamchatka  Ostrog  and  the  second  Lower  Kam- 
chatka Ostrog.  In  the  year  1708  Peter  Kozirefski  was  killed  on 
an  island  near  Kamchatka.  During  the  years  1711,  1712,  1713,  and 
1 7 14  Ignatius  Kozirefski  had  orders  from  Jakutsk  to  make  investiga- 
tions as  to  the  extent  of  the  country  and  especially  of  Kamchatka 
Cape  and  the  near  by  islands,  to  inquire  to  what  government  all  these 
peoples  owe  allegiance  and  to  force  all  those  to  pay  tribute  who  have 
no  sovereign,  to  inform  himself  as  much  as  possible  regarding  Japan, 


296  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

possible  du  pais  du  Japon  de  quelle  manierre  on  pourroit  y  arriver, 
quelles  armes  ont  les  habitans  et  comment  ils  font  la  guerre,  si  on 
peut  croire  qu'ils  entreroient  en  amitie,  et  en  commerce  avec  la  nation 
Russe,  et  quelles  marchandises  ils  auroient  bien  besoin  de  Syberie.  II 
est  informe  exactement  de  toutes  ces  choses  en  partie  lui  meme,  pendant 
les  voyages  qu'il  a  fait  sur  mer  et  sur  terre,  en  partie  par  les  gens 
qu'il  a  envoyes  dans  ce  pais;  de  sorte  qu'il  peut  donner  beaucoup  de 
nouvelles  tres  curieuses  du  cours  de  la  mer  vers  le  Japon  et  des  isles 
qu'il  faut  passer,  pareillem't  de  la  ville  Matmei  ou  Matsmei  qui  est 
situee  sur  la  derniere  de  ces  isles.  II  a  eu  aussi  plusieurs  recontres 
avec  les  habitans  meridionaux  du,  pais  du  Kamchatka  avant  que  de 
les  pouvoir  mettre  sous  l'obeissance ;  mais  il  les  a  toujours  heureusem't 
vaincu  et  enfin  ayant  impose  un  tribut  a  ceux  qui  restoient,  et  pris 
d'eux  des  otages;  il  fit  fortifier  de  nouveau  avec  des  pallisades  un 
endroit  nomme  Bolshoiretskoi  Ostrog  sur  la  grande  riviere  appellee 
Bolchaia  Reka  qui  se  jette  dans  la  Mer  Pensinskoi  ou  il  a  fait  batir  un 
port  de  mer  pour  la  navigation.  L'an  1 71 5  il  fit  batir  a  ses  depens, 
touche  par  les  prieres  des  pauvres  de  la  Colonie,  des  Invalides,  des 
Veillards,  des  malades,  des  blesses  et  d'autres  personnes  hors  de 
service,  une  maison  de  prieres  et  chapelle  de  l'Ascension  de  Marie  et 
un  couvent,  sur  le  fleuve  de  Kamchatka  dans  un  endroit  desert,  dans 
lequel,  il  se  fit  l'an  1 718  religieux,  et  changea  son  nom  de  Bateme 
Ivan  pour  prendre  celui  de  l'ordre  Ignace.  Le  Tribut  qui  paient  les 
Kamtchadeles  aux  revenues  de  1'Empereur  consiste  en  peaux  de 
Zibelines  de  Renards,  et  de  Castors.  II  a  aussi  apporte  des  nouvelles 
tres  certaines  d'une  Montagne  nomme  Sopka  (c'est  a  dire  volcan) 
situee  pres  du  fleuve  Kamchatka,  laquelle  jette  de  feu  et  d'ou  il  sort 
de  la  fumee  des  charbons  ardens  et  de  la  cendre,  de  meme  que  d'autres 
endroits  tres  remarquable. 


EUROPEAN  OPINION  REGARDING  KOZIREFSKI  297 

the  way  thither,  what  weapons  the  inhabitants  have  and  how  they 
wage  war,  whether  there  might  be  reason  to  believe  that  they  would 
be  willing  to  enter  into  friendly  and  commercial  relations  with  the 
Russians,  and  the  kind  of  merchandise  from  Siberia  they  might  be 
willing  to  buy.  He  is  fully  informed  on  all  these  points,  partly 
through  his  own  efforts  by  making  voyages  by  land  and  sea,  and 
partly  through  the  efforts  of  others  whom  he  sent  into  those  regions. 
He  is  in  a  position  to  give  some  very  interesting  information  on  the 
course  to  be  sailed  in  going  to  Japan  and  the  islands  one  would  have 
to  pass  on  the  way,  also  regarding  the  city  of  Matmei  or  Matsmei 
which  is  situated  on  the  last  one  of  these  islands.  He  has  had  sev- 
eral fights  with  the  inhabitants  of  southern  Kamchatka  before  he 
could  bring  them  under  his  control,  fortunately  he  has  always  been 
successful  and  he  has  been  able  to  impose  tribute  on  them  and  make 
them  give  hostages.  He  rebuilt  a  second  time  Bolsheretsk  Ostrog 
on  the  River  Bolshaja  Reka  which  flows  into  the  Penjinsk  Sea.  He 
also  constructed  a  port  for  navigation.  Moved  by  the  sufferings  and 
prayers  of  the  poor,  invalids,  aged,  sick,  wounded,  and  others  unfit  for 
labor,  he  erected  at  his  own  expense  a  church  and  chapel,  dedicated 
to  the  Ascension  of  Mary,  and  a  convent.  These  buildings  were  lo- 
cated on  a  deserted  spot  on  the  River  Kamchatka.  In  the  year  17 18 
he  became  a  monk  and  changed  his  baptismal  name  Iwan  for  that  of 
the  order  Ignatius.  The  tribute  which  the  Kamchadels  pay  to  the 
emperor  consists  of  sable,  fox,  and  beaver  skins.  He  has  also  brought 
very  definite  information  about  a  volcano  situated  near  the  Kamchatka 
River  which  emits  fire,  smoke,  hot  coals  and  ashes.  There  are  other 
very  remarkable  places  of  which  he  tells. 


APPENDIX  E 

NAVIGATION    ET   DECOUVERTES    FAITES    PAR    LES 

RUSSES  DANS  LA  MER  ORIENTALE  ENTRE  LES 

DEUX  VOIAGES  DU  CAPTAINE  BEERINGS 

VERS  LES  ANNEES  1731  ET  1732  530 

NOUVELLES  CONNOISSANCES  SUR  LES  TERRES  ORI- 

ENTALES  DONNEES  PAR  MR.  FEODOR  IVANITCH 

SOIMONOF  LE  1  MARS,   1738 531 

Le  Capitain  commandeur  Beerings  a  son  retour  de  son  premier 
voyage  a  recontre  10  matelots  qui  etoient  envoiez  pour  la  mer  orientale 
lesquels  se  sont  embarquez  sur  le  vaissau  qu'a  laisse  a.  Okhota  le  cap- 
itaine  Beerings  ils  ont  ere  sur  ce  bateau  au  Camchot  et  par  la  mesme 
route  qui  le  capitaine  Beerings  avoit  suivi  et  mesme  audela  et  ils  ont 
fait  la  decouverte  des  deux  golfes  A  B,  et  ensuite  tirant  a  Test  ils 
ont  trouve  l'lsle  C  et  une  grande  terre  D  a  une  demi  journee  de 
distance  de  la  terre  F.  etant  aupres  de  cette  grande  terre  il  est  venu 
a  eux  un  homme  dans  un  petit  batiment  semblable  a  ceux  des  groen- 
landois  et  lui  aiant  demande  dans  quel  pais  ils  etoient  il  ne  leur  a  pas 
pu  dire  si  ce  n'est  que  c'etoit  un  grand  pais ;  ou  il  y  avoit  beaucoup  de 
fourures.  ils  ont  parcoru  la  cote  D  E  de  ce  pais  pendant  deux  jours 
allant  au  Sud;  mais  lorsquils  tachoient  d'y  debarquer  ils  ont  ete 
assailis  d'une  rude  tempete  qui  les  a  ramene  au  camchat;  ils  ont  aussi 
parcouru  les  iles  qui  sont  a  la  pointe  meridional  du  Camchat  et  ont 
ete  jusqu'a  la  grande  isle  qui  est  vis  a  vis  de  l'embouchure  de  la  ri- 
viere d'Amour  ils  ont  debarque  dans  cette  isle  et  y  ont  trouve  3 
Russes  qui  etoient  prisonniers  par  les  Tartars  habitans  de  cette  isle; 
ils  les  ont  emmenes  avec  eux  et  sont  revenus  sur  les  cotes  de  la  mer 
orientale  au  nord  de  l'embrouchure  de  la  riviere  d'Amour  et  enfin  a 
Okhota.  le  pilote  Russe  qui  a  fait  cette  navigation  pendant  2  etes 
consecutif  [?]  etant  mort  a  ete  succede  par  un  Allemand  qui  a  pris 
son  journal  et  est  venu  a  Tobolsk  avec  les  matelots;  mais  ayiant  eu 

530  Delisle  Mss.,  no.  xxv,  16. 
an  — Ibid.,  16,  A. 


APPENDIX  E 

NAVIGATION  AND  DISCOVERIES  MADE  BY  THE  RUS- 
SIANS  IN   THE   EASTERN  OCEAN    [PACIFIC]    BE- 
TWEEN THE  TWO  VOYAGES  OF  CAPTAIN 
BEERINGS  DURING  THE  YEARS 
1731  AND  1732 

NEW    INFORMATION    REGARDING    THE    EASTERN 

LANDS  FURNISHED  BY  MR.  FEODOR  IVANITCH 

SOIMONOF,  MARCH  1,  1738 

The  Captain-commander  Beerings  on  his  return  from  his  first 
voyage  met  ten  sailors  who  were  sent  to  the  Eastern  Ocean.  They 
went  on  board  the  boat  left  by  Captain  Beerings  and,  following  his 
route,  they  went  to  Kamchatka  and  even  beyond  that  where  they 
discovered  two  gulfs  A,  B.  From  there  they  steered  east  and  found 
the  island  C  and  a  large  body  of  land  D,  a  half  days  distance  from 
the  land  F.  While  they  were  near  this  land  there  came  to  them  a 
man  in  a  small  boat  similar  to  those  of  Greenland.  He  was  asked 
what  country  that  was  and  whether  there  were  any  fur-bearing  an- 
imals, but  he  could  not  give  them  any  satisfactory  information.  For 
two  days  they  sailed  along  the  coast  D  E  of  this  country  going  in  a 
southerly  direction.  They  attempted  to  make  a  landing  but  a  storm 
came  up  forcing  them  back  to  Kamchatka.  They  cruised  also  among 
the  islands  at  the  southern  part  of  Kamchatka  and  came  as  far  as  the 
large  island  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  river  Amur.  They  landed 
on  the  island  and  found  among  the  Tartars,  who  inhabit  this  place, 
three  Russian  captives.  Taking  them  along  they  sailed  for  the  Eastern 
Ocean,  north  of  the  Amur  River,  and  finally  to  Okhotsk.  The 
Russian  pilot,  who  was  engaged  in  this  navigation  for  two  consecu- 
tive summers,  died,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  a  German  who,  with 
his  journal  and  sailors,  came  to  Tobolsk.     They  got  into  a  fight  and 


3<x>  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

du  bruit  entre'eux  Ton  a  envoye  de  Tobolsk  a  Petersbourg  Tun  de 
ces  matelots  pour  etre  juge  et  examine,  c'est  lui  qui  aiant  ete  mis  a  la 
question  a  fait  le  rapport  susdit;  surquoy  le  College  del'Amiraute 
pour  etre  mieux  informe  de  toute  cette  affaire  a  envoie  un  ordre  a 
Tobolsk  (depuis  peu  de  jours)  pour  faire  venir  a  Petersburg  l'alle- 
mand  avec  son  journal  et  les  autres  a  l'occasion  du  rapport  cydessus 
que  m'a  fait  Mr.  Soimonof.  il  m'a  dit  que  Ton  n'a  pas  sceu  com- 
prendre  ici  comment  le  capitaine  Beerings  qui  dans  son  premier  voy- 
age a  parcouru  par  mer  la  pointe  meridionale  du  Camchat  depuis 
Bolchia-reka  jusqu'a  Kamchatka  Gouba  et  comment  disje  il  n'a  fait 
aucun  mention  du  observation  des  petites  isles  qui  sont  a  la  pointe 
meridionale  du  Camchat  quisque  ces  isles  se  voient  mesme  des  cotes 
du  Camchat  a  ce  qu'a  rapporte  le  Capitaine  Schpanberg  qui  a  fait  la 
mesme  route  que  le  Capitaine  Beerings  et  qui  a  mesme  dit  que  les 
habitans  de  ces  Isles  paioient  tribut  a  S.  M.  I. 


DISCOVERIES  MADE  BY  THE  RUSSIANS         301 

one  of  the  sailors  was  sent  from  Tobolsk  to  St.  Petersburg  for  trial, 
and,  when  questioned,  he  gave  the  information  just  mentioned.  The 
Admiralty  College  wishing  to  know  more  about  this  discovery  sent 
an  order  to  Tobolsk  (only  a  few  days  ago)  that  the  German  with 
his  journal  and  all  others  connected  with  this  voyage  should  come  to 
the  capital.  Mr.  Soimonof  said  that  it  is  hard  to  understand  why 
Captain  Beerings,  who  in  his  first  voyage  sailed  in  the  waters  south 
of  Kamchatka  -  from  Bolshaja  Reka  to  Kamchatka  Gulf,  made  no 
mention  of  these  islands  south  of  Kamchatka ;  it  would  seem  that,  ac- 
cording to  the  report  of  Captain  Spanberg,  who  was  over  the  same 
waters  as  Captain  Beerings,  that  these  islands  may  be  seen  from 
Kamchatka  and  that  the  inhabitants  even  pay  tribute  to  His  Im- 
perial Majesty. 


APPENDIX  F 

MEMOIR  PRESENTED  TO  THE  SENATE  WITH  MAP 
WHICH  BERING  USED  IN  GOING  TO  AMERICA532 

Explication  de  la  carte  de  la  mer  orientale  dressee  pour  montrer  le 
plus  court  chemin  de  l'Asie  a  l'Amerique.  Lue  a  l'Academie  l'an 
1732. 

Cette  carte  represente  la  veritable  situation  et  distance  des  cotes 
orientales  de  l'Asie,  connues  jusqu'a  present,  avec  les  terres  de 
rAmerique  Septentrionale  les  plus  voisines.  Elle  a  ete  dresee  pour 
faciliter  la  decouverte  du  plus  court  chemin  de  l'Asie  a  l'Amerique. 

La  route  la  plus  ordinaire  que  Ton  a  tenue  jusqu'ici  pour  aller  de 
l'Asie  a  l'Amerique  a  ete  des  Philippines  au  Mexique,  entre  les 
parallels  de  10  et  de  35  degres  de  latitude  septentrionale.  Cette 
route  est  particulierment  frequentee  par  les  Espagnols  a  qui  appar- 
tiennent  les  isles  Philippines  et  le  Mexique.  Elle  est  d'environ  130 
degres  en  longitude,  ce  qui  ne  fais  pas  moins  de  2500  lieues  marines 
de  20  au  degre,  ou  13,000  wersts.  Le  Chemin  de  l'Asie  a  l'Amerique 
devient  dautant  plus  court  que  Ton  s'approche,  plus  pres  du  pole 
septentrional,  et  que  Ton  part  des  terres  de  l'Asie  plus  orientale  pour 
arriver  aux  plus  occidentales  de  l'Amerique.  Telle  a  ete  la  route  de 
Dom  Jean  de  Gama  en  allant  de  la  Chine  a  la  nouvelle  Espagne,  et 
celle  d'un  vaisseau  francois  nomme  le  St  Antoine  lequel  est  le  premier 
qui  a  fait  le  retour  de  la  nouvelle  Espagne  a  la  Chine.  Ces  deux 
routes  sont  un  peu  plus  courtes  que  le  route  ordinaire  des  Philippines 
a  la  nouvelle  Espagne :  mais  si  Ton  partoit  de  l'extremite  orientale 
des  terres  soumises  a  S.  M.  I.  le  chemin  a  l'Amerique  seroit  encore 
de  beaucoup  plus  court. 

Depuis  le  cap  de  l'Asie  le  plus  avance  au  nord-Est  vis-a-vis  lequel 
est  parvenu  M.  le  Capitaine  Beerings,  sous  la  hauteur  de  67  degres 
Vz  jusqu'aux  terres  les  plus  voisines  de  l'Amerique  qui  nous  sont 
connues  jusqu'a  present,  il  n'y  a  pas  le  plus  court  chemin  que  600 
lieues  marines,  ou  un  peu  plus  de  5000  wersts,  ce  qui  n'est  pas  le 

532  Delisle  Mss.,  no.  xxv,  14. 


APPENDIX  F 

MEMOIR  PRESENTED  TO  THE  SENATE  WITH  MAP 
WHICH  BERING  USED  IN  GOING  TO  AMERICA 

Explanation  of  the  map  of  the  eastern  sea  which  was  prepared  for 
the  purpose  of  showing  the  nearest  way  from  Asia  to  America.  Read 
at  the  Academy  in  the  year  1732. 

This  map  represents  the  true  situation  and  distance  of  the  eastern 
shores  of  Asia,  known  up  to  the  present  time,  with  that  part  of  the 
continent  of  North  America  which  is  nearest  to  it.  This  map  was 
made  for  the  purpose  of  helping  in  the  discovery  the  shortest  route 
between  Asia  and  America. 

The  course  which  has  usually  been  sailed  until  now,  in  going  from 
Asia  to  America,  has  been  from  the  Philippines  to  Mexico,  between 
the  parallels  ten  and  thirty-five  degrees  north  latitude.  This  route 
has  been  made  use  of  especially  by  the  Spaniards  to  whom  belong  the 
Philippine  Islands  and  Mexico.  It  is  about  one  hundred  thirty  de- 
grees in  longitude,  wThich  would  make  not  less  than  two  thousand 
five  hundred  marine  leagues  of  twenty  to  the  degree,  or  thirteen 
thousand  wersts.  The  course  between  Asia  and  America  becomes 
shorter  as  one  approaches  the  north  pole,  and  between  the  most 
easterly  part  of  Asia  and  the  extreme  western  point  of  America. 
Such  was  the  course  of  Dom  Jean  de  Gama  in  going  from  China 
to  New  Spain,  and  this  was  also  true  of  a  French  boat,  the  St.  An- 
toine,  which  was  the  first  to  make  the  return  voyage  from  New  Spain 
to  China.  These  two  routes  are  somewhat  shorter  than  the  one 
usually  made  use  of  in  going  from  the  Philippines  to  New  Spain : 
but  if  one  should  sail  from  the  easternmost  territories  of  His  Imperial 
Majesty  the  route  to  America  would  be  still   shorter. 

From  the  most  northeasterly  cape  of  Asia,  which  Captain  Beer- 
ings  had  reached,  in  sixty-seven  and  one-third  degrees,  to  the  nearest 
American  territory,  which  is  known  to  us  at  the  present  time,  the 
shortest  way  is  about  six  hundred  marine  leagues,  or  a  little  more 
than  five  thousand  [three  thousand?]  wersts,  which  is  less  than  one- 


304  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

quart  de  la  longueur  des  deux  routes  marquees  cidessus.  II  est  vrai 
que  Ton  ignore  si  ce  sont  des  terres  ou  des  mers  qui  se  rencontrent 
dans  ce  plus  court  trajet  de  l'Asie  a  l'Amerique,  personne  n'y  aiant 
encore  ete,  a  moins  que  ceux  qui  en  ont  quelque  connoissance  n'aient 
voulu  la  tenir  secrette  pour  en  profiler  seuls  a  l'exclusion  des  autres 
nations. 

Comme  Ton  ne  connoit  point  non  plus  jusqu'ou  s'entendent  au 
Nord-Ouest  les  terres  de  l'Amerique  Septentrionale  il  se  pourroit 
faire  qu'elles  s'approcheroient  de  l'Asie,  de  sorte  qu'il  n'y  auroit  entre 
l'Asie  et  l'Amerique  que  de  petits  trajets  de  mer  qui  se  pourroient 
peut  etre  faire  aisement  avec  de  mediocres  batimens,  en  prenant  lcs 
terns  propres. 

Cette  conjecture  d'un  chemin  assez  court  et  peutetre  facile  entre 
l'Asie  et  l'Amerique  n'est  pas  sans  fondement,  apres  les  indices  que 
M  le  Capitaine  Beerings  a  appercus  des  terres  voisines  a  la  cote 
Nord-Est  de  l'Asie,  qu'il  a  parcouru  dans  son  premier  voiage,  entre 
les  parallels  de  50  et  de  60  degres  Ces  indices  sont,  i°  de  n'avoir 
trouve  en  s'eloignant  de  ces  cotes  que  peu  de  profondeur,  et  des 
vagues  basses,  relies  que  Ton  les  trouve  ordinairement  dans  des  de- 
troits  ou  bras  de  mer,  bien  differentes  des  hautes  vagues  que  Ton 
trouve  sur  les  cotes  exposees  a  une  mer  fort  etendue. 

2°  d'avoir  trouve  des  pins  et  autres  arbres  deracines  amenes  par  le 
vent  d'Est,  au  lieu  qu'il  n'en  croit  point  dans  le  Kamtchatka. 

3°  d'avoir  appris  des  gens  du  pais  que  le  vent  d'Est  peut  amener 
en  2  ou  3  jours  les  glaces,  au  lieu  qu'il  faut  4  ou  5  jours  de  vent 
d'Ouest  pour  emporter  les  glaces  de  la  cote  Nord-Est  de  l'Asie. 

40  Que  de  certains  oiseaux  viennent  regulierement  tous  les  ans 
dans  les  memes  mois  du  cote  de  l'Est,  et  qu'apres  avoir  passe  quelques 
mois  sur  les  cotes  de  l'Asie,  ils  s'en  retournent  aussi  regulierment  dans 
la  meme  saison. 

A  ces  indices  remarques  par  M.  le  Capitaine  Beerings,  on  peut 
ajouter  quelques  autres  preuves  de  vraisemblance  que  l'inspection  de 
la  carte  peut  fournir.  Par  exemple  ces  cotes  vues  par  Dom  Jean  de 
Gama,  que  j'ai  placees  vis-a-vis  du  Kamtchatka  font  peutetre  partie 
d'un  grand  continens  qui  seroit  contigu  a  l'Amerique,  et  qui  irois 
rejoindre  au  Nord  de  la  Californie  la  cote  Septentrionale  de  l'entree 
decouverte  par  Martin  d'Aguillar :  au  moins  trouvet'on  dans  quelques 
anciennes  cartes  une  longue  cotemarquee  dans  tous  ce  trajet,  ce  qui 
sans  doute  n'a  pas  ete  fais  sans  raisons,  quoique  nous  ne  les  sachions 


MEMOIR  PRESENTED  TO  THE  SENATE  305 

fourth  of  the  length  of  the  two  routes  mentioned  above.  Whether 
one  would  meet  with  new  lands  or  new  seas  on  this  short  route  be- 
tween Asia  and  America  it  is  not  easy  to  say  because  no  one  has  ever 
been  there,  or  if  they  have  they  have  kept  the  matter  secret  so  that 
they  only  might  profit  by  this  information  and  keep  other  nations  out. 

One  is  equally  in  the  dark  as  to  how  far  in  a  northwesterly  direc- 
tion North  America  extends,  it  is  quite  possible  that  it  approaches 
close  to  Asia,  so  that  there  is  only  a  very  short  distance  between 
the  two  continents  and  that  it  would  be  easy  to  go  from  one  to  the 
other  in  an  ordinary  boat  during  fair  weather. 

This  assumption  of  a  short  and  possible  easy  route  between  Asia 
and  America  is  not  without  some  foundation,  if  we  take  into  con- 
sideration the  signs  of  land  near  northeastern  Asia  which  Captain 
Beerings  noticed  between  the  parallels  fifty  and  sixty  degrees  while  he 
was  on  his  first  voyage.     These  signs  are: 

( 1 )  At  some  distance  from  the  shore  he  found  the  water  rather 
shallow  and  the  waves  small  just  as  in  straits  or  arm  of  the  sea,  quite 
different  from  the  high  waves  which  one  meets  with  along  the  coast 
that  is  washed  by  a  large  sea. 

(2)  He  saw  uprooted  fir  and  other  trees  which  were  brought  by 
the  east  wind,  which  trees  are  not  seen  in  Kamchatka. 

(3)  From  the  natives  of  the  country  he  learned  that  an  eastern 
wind  brings  ice  in  two  or  three  days,  while  it  takes  a  western  wind 
four  or  five  days  to  carry  off  the  ice  from  northeast  Asia. 

(4)  That  certain  birds  come  regularly  every  year  about  the  same 
month  from  the  east  and  after  having  passed  several  months  on  the 
Asiatic  shore  they  return  with  the  same  regularity  the  same  season. 

In  addition  to  the  evidences  brought  out  by  Captain  Beerings, 
there  are  others  of  equal  value  which  one  may  gather  by  looking  at 
the  map.  For  example  the  shores  seen  by  Dom  Jean  de  Gama,  which 
I  have  located  opposite  Kamchatka,  are  perhaps  a  part  of  a  large 
continent  contiguous  to  America,  joining  it  north  of  California  at 
the  entrance  discovered  by  Martin  d'Aguillar.  On  the  old  charts 
one  finds  indicated  a  long  shore  line  on  this  course.  There  must 
have  been  some  reason  for  this,  although  we  do  not  know  what  it  is 


306  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

pas,  et  que  les  Geographes  modernes  ne  s'y  soient  pas  conformed :  mais 
l'experience  journaliere  nous  apprend  que  Ton  est  quelquefois  oblige 
de  revenir  a  des  anciennes  opinions  que  Ton  avoit  abandonnees. 

De  plus,  si  Ton  considere  sur  la  carte  tous  ces  golfes  et  Bayes, 
comme  de  Hudson,  de  Baffins,  de  Davis,  decouvertes  en  differens 
terns  par  ces  courageaux  navigateurs  qui  cherchoient  le  passage  le  plus 
court  de  l'Europe  a  l'Asie  par  le  Nord-Ouest  et  dans  lequel  ils  n'ont 
pas  reussi;  en  considerant  dis  je  de  quelle  maniere  ce  passage  est 
ferme  par  toutes  ces  cotes  que  Ton  voit  sur  ma  carte,  Ton  ne  peut  que 
s'imaginer  que  ces  cotes  sont  les  bornes  d'un  continent  qui  peutetre 
s'etend  considerablement  a  l'Ouest  et  au  Nord,  et  qui  par  consequent 
s'approche  beaucoup  de  l'extremite  de  l'Asie  qu'a  parcourue  M.  le 
Capitaine  Beerings  dans  son  premier  voiage. 

Si  ce  continent  suppose  s'etendoit  assez  pour  rejoindre  vis-a-vis  du 
Kamtchatka  les  cotes  vues  par  Dom  Jean  de  Gama,  ce  seroit  alors 
le  long  des  cotes  de  l'Asie  qu'a  parcourues  M.  le  Capitaine  Beerings 
qu'il  faidroit  placer  le  detroit  d'Anian. 

Je  ne  veus  pas  soutenir  l'existence  du  detroit  d'Anian  qui  est  peut- 
etre imaginaire ;  mais  on  ne  peut  pas  douter  qu'il  n'y  ais  quelque  part 
entre  L'Asie  et  l'Amerique  un  detroit  considerable  quel  qu'il  soit. 

Varenius  dans  sa  Geographie  generale  en  donne  la  preuve  suivante : 
Que  dans  la  partie  de  la  mer  pacifique  qui  est  entre  la  Tartarie  et  les 
cotes  occidentales  de  l'Amerique  Septentrionale,  a  700  milles  du 
Japon,  on  trouve  un  courant  du  Nord  et  du  Nord-Ouest,  quoique 
dans  le  meme  terns  le  vent  souffle  d'un  cote  oppose;  mais  que  IOO 
miles  avant  que  d'etre  aux  cotes  de  la  nouvelle  Espagne,  ce  courant 
ne  se  trouve  plus.  On  ajoute  a  cella  que  dans  les  700  milles,  on 
trouve  beaucoup  de  baleines  et  de  ces  poissons  que  lee  Espagnols  ap- 
pellent  albacares,  bonites,  etc.,  et  poisson  qui  se  voient  d'ordinaire 
aupres  des  detroits,  de  sorte  que  Ton  peut  juger  qu'ils  viennent  de  ce 
detroit,  etc. 

Sur  tous  les  indices  que  j'ai  rapportes  cidessus,  sans  pretendre  rien 
prescrire,  Ton  pourroit  proposer  differents  routes  pour  faire  la  decou- 
verte  de  ces  terres  les  plus  voisines  de  l'Asie  a  son  orient. 


MEMOIR  PRESENTED  TO  THE  SENATE  307 

and  modern  geographers  do  not  see  fit  to  accept  this  view.  Experi- 
ence, however,  teaches  us  every  day  that  it  is  often  necessary  to  go 
back  to  the  opinions  of  the  ancients  which  had  at  one  time  been 
abandoned. 

Moreover,  on  looking  at  the  map  one  will  note  all  the  bays  and 
gulfs,  such  as  the  Hudson,  Baffins,  Davis,  discovered  at  various  times 
by  these  brave  navigators  who  were  seeking  a  short  passage  from 
Europe  to  Asia  through  the  northwest  and  in  which  efforts  they 
failed.  If  you  take  all  these  things  into  consideration  and  the  way 
in  which  this  passage  is  closed,  as  may  be  seen  on  my  map,  you  will 
be  more  or  less  forced  to  imagine  that  these  shores  are  the  limits  of 
some  continent  which  extends  perhaps  to  the  west  and  north,  and 
which  therefore  comes  very  close  to  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  Asia 
where  Captain  Beerings  was  on  his  first  voyage. 

If  the  supposition  is  correct  and  there  is  a  continent  stretching  out 
far  enough  [to  the  west  and  north]  to  join  opposite  Kamchatka  the 
shores  which  were  seen  by  Dom  Jean  de  Gama,  it  follows  then  that 
the  Anian  Strait  should  be  located  along  the  coast  of  Asia  where 
Captain  Beerings  sailed. 

I  do  not  insist  that  there  is  an  Anian  Strait,  which  is  perhaps 
wholly  imaginary,  but  one  can  not  help  feeling  that  somewhere  be- 
tween Asia  and  America  there  must  be  an  important  strait,  whatever 
its  character  may  be. 

Varenius  in  his  general  work  on  geography  gives  these  reasons 
[for  believing  in  the  existence  of  a  strait]  :  in  that  part  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  which  is  between  Tartarie  and  the  western  part  of  North 
America,  about  seven  hundred  miles  from  Japan,  the  current  sets 
from  the  north  and  from  the  northwest,  although  at  the  same  time 
the  wind  blows  from  an  opposite  quarter;  but  when  within  one  hun- 
dred miles  of  the  shores  of  New  Spain  this  current  is  no  longer  felt. 
An  additional  proof  on  this  subject  is  that  within  these  seven  hundred 
miles  there  are  to  be  found  whales  and  fish  which  the  Spaniards  call 
albacares,  bonites,  etc.,  fish  which  are  ordinarily  found  in  neighbor- 
hood of  straits,  so  that  one  may  reasonably  suppose  that  they  come 
from   this  strait,  etc. 

Taking  into  consideration  all  the  evidence  I  have  given  above,  one 
could,  without  any  pretensions  at  finality,  suggest  several  different 
courses  to  be  sailed  in  order  to  discover  the  lands  east  of  and  nearest 
to  Asia. 


308         RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

i°  Si  Ton  s'avancoit  jusqu'au  terme  de  l'Asie  le  plus  septentrional 
et  le  plus  orientale  en  meme  terns,  jusqu'ou  est  parvenu  M.  le  Cap- 
itaine  Beerings,  Ton  pourroit  ne  pas  manquer  d'arriver  a  l'Amerique 
quelque  route  que  Ton  prenne  entre  le  Nord-Est  et  le  Sud-Est,  en  ne 
faisant  pas  600  lieues,  au  plus. 

2°  Sans  s'avancer  si  avant,  il  seroit  peutetre  plus  aise  de  partir  du 
lieu  de  la  cote  orientale  du  Kamtchatka  ou  M.  le  Capitaine  Beerings 
a  appercu  des  indices  dont  j'ai  parle  cidevant  d'une  terre  voisine  a 
son  orient,  aller  reconnoitre  cette  terre  et  la  suivre,  etc. 

3°  On  pourroit  peutetre  trouver  encore  plus  promtement  et  avec 
plus  de  certitude  les  terres  vues  par  Dom  Jean  de  Gama,  en  les 
cherchant  au  sud  du  Kamtchatka.  Ces  terres,  comme  Ton  voit  sur 
la  carte  sont  a  l'orient  de  la  terre  de  la  Compagnie,  qui  a  ete  decou- 
verte  Tan  1643  par  des  vaisseaux  Hollandois  qui  en  ont  pris  possession 
au  nom  des  Etats  d'Hollande.  Mais  je  n'ai  pas  su  que  Ton  ait  fais 
descente  aux  terres  vues  par  Dom  Jean  de  Gama,  ni  par  consequent 
que  Ton  en  ait  pris  possession. 

Je  suis  bien  fache  de  n'avoir  pu  trouver  ici  d'autres  connoisances 
de  ces  terres  vues  par  Dom  Jean  de  Gama,  que  se  que  j'en  ai  marque 
dans  la  carte,  d'apres  les  dernieres  cartes  de  feu  mon  frere,  premier 
Qeographe  du  Roi  tres  Chretien ;  mais  comme  il  en  a  marque  la 
situation  a  l'egard  de  la  terre  de  la  Compagnie  et  de  la  terre  d'Yeco, 
et  que  je  suis  certain  d'ailleurs  de  la  situation  de  ces  deux  dernieres 
terres  vues  par  Dom  Jean  de  Gama  a  l'egard  du  Kamtchatka,  je  ne 
doute  pas  que  ces  terres  vues  par  Dom  Jean  de  Gama  ne  doivent 
etre  a  l'endroit  marque  sur  la  carte. 

Sur  les  deux  premieres  routes  que  je  vient  d'indiquer  pour  la  de- 
couverte  des  terres  inconnues  qui  sont  entre  l'Asie  et  l'Amerique,  je 
n'ai  rien  a  ajouter  a  ce  que  j'ai  dit  cidevant:  mais  a  l'egard  de  la 
troisieme,  si  Ton  veut  la  tenter  par  la  terre  d'Yego  et  la  terre  de  la 
Compagnie,  en  passant  entre  ces  deux  terres  et  l'isle  des  Etats  qui 
est  au  milieu,  je  peus  fournir  pour  cette  navigation  toutes  les  con- 
noisances dont  on  peut  avoir  besoin  pour  ne  pas  s'y  tromper.  II  me 
reste  a  marquer  ici  sur  quels  fondemens  j'ai  place  cette  terre  d'Yego 
dans  ma  carte,  de  meme  que  tous  les  autres  pais  situes  a  cette  ex- 
tremite  orientale  de  l'Asie. 

Les  terres  qui  sont  de  cote  de  l'Asie,  colorees  de  rouge,  sont  de  la 
domination  de  la  Chine,  sous  laquelle  j'ai  compris  le  roiaume  de 
Coree  vassal  tributaire  de  la  Chine,  et  tout  ce  pais  de  Tartars  Orien- 


MEMOIR  PRESENTED  TO  THE  SENATE  309 

( 1 )  If  one  should  start  from  the  most  northerly  and  at  the  same 
time  the  most  easterly  point  of  Asia,  that  is  about  the  neighborhood 
reached  by  Captain  Beerings,  he  could  not  fail  to  come  to  America 
provided  he  steered  a  course  between  northeast  and  southeast,  and 
putting  it  at  the  very  highest  figure  the  distance  would  not  be  more 
than  six  hundred  leagues. 

(2)  Without  even  going  so  far,  it  might  perhaps  be  more  easy 
to  sail  from  that  part  of  the  eastern  coast  of  Kamchatka  where  Cap- 
tain Beerings  noticed  to  the  east  of  him  those  signs  of  land  of  which 
I  have  spoken,  and  to  locate  that  land,  examine  it,  etc. 

(3)  One  could  perhaps  find  more  quickly  and  with  more  certainty 
the  lands  seen  by  Dom  Jean  de  Gama  by  looking  for  them  south  of 
Kamchatka.  These  lands,  as  may  be  seen  on  the  map,  are  east  of  the 
Company  Land,  which  was  discovered  in  the  year  1643,  by  vessels 
belonging  to  the  Dutch  who  took  possession  of  them  in  the  name  of 
the  States  of  Holland.  But  I  am  not  aware  that  any  one  has  ever 
been  on  the  lands  seen  by  Dom  Jean  de  Gama,  and,  therefore,  no 
one  has  as  yet  taken  possession  of  them. 

I  am  very  sorry  not  to  have  been  able  to  find  here  any  other 
information  regarding  the  lands  seen  by  Dom  Jean  de  Gama  than 
which  I  have  marked  on  the  map,  based  on  those  of  my  late  brother, 
first  geographer  of  the  very  Christian  king.  But  since  he  has  lo- 
cated it  with  regard  to  Company  Lands  and  Yeco  Land  and  as  I 
am  certain  of  the  situation  of  these  two  bodies  of  land  in  relation  to 
Kamchatka,  I  am  confident  that  the  lands  seen  by  Dom  Jean  de  Gama 
should  be  where  they  are  located  on  the  map. 

As  to  the  first  two  routes  of  which  I  have  just  spoken,  for  the 
discovery  of  the  unknown  lands  which  are  between  Asia  and  America, 
I  have  nothing  more  to  add  to  what  has  been  said  above.  But  in 
regards  to  the  third,  if  one  should  wish  to  attempt  it  by  way  of 
Company  Land  and  Yeco  Land,  by  going  between  them  and  State 
Island  which  is  in  the  middle,  I  am  able  to  furnish  for  such  a  naviga- 
tion all  the  necessary  information  so  that  no  mistake  might  be  made. 
I  should  like  to  explain  here  what  my  authority  is  for  locating  Yeco 
Land  on  my  map,  as  well  as  all  the  other  countries  which  are  sit- 
uated on  this  extreme  eastern  part  of  Asia. 

The  territories  on  the  Asiatic  side  which  are  marked  in  red  are 
under  the  control  of  China,  among  which  I  have  included  the  king- 
dom of  Korea,  a  tributary  vassal  of  China,  and  all  the  region  of 


310  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

taux  jusqu'aux  limites  des  terres  appartenantes  a  S.  M.  I.  de  toute  les 
Russies.  Je  me  suis  servi  de  la  couleur  verte  pour  marquer  sur  cette 
extremite  orientale  tout  ce  qui  a  ete  decouvert  et  soumis  a  la  Russie. 
Je  ne  me  suis  attache  qu'a  en  decrire  les  cotes;  mais  elles  y  sont  ex- 
actement  tracees.  Celles  de  la  Chine  et  de  pais  dependans  ont  ete 
marquees  d'apres  les  cartes  de  la  Chine;  et  les  cotes  des  pais  soumis 
a  la  Russie  ont  ete  marquees  d'apres  la  carte  et  les  operations  de  M. 
le  Capitaine  Beerings  dans  sa  premiere  expedition.  Les  cartes  de  la 
Chine  dont  je  me  suis  servi  sont  rapportees  au  meridien  de  Pekin, 
dont  la  situation  a  l'egard  du  meridien  de  Petersbourg  m'est  exacte- 
ment  connue  par  plusieurs  observations  des  Satellites  de  Jupiter  faites 
de  part  et  d'autre;  et  comme  Ton  sais  aussi,  part  un  grand  nombre 
d'observations  faites  a  Petersbourg  la  situation  de  son  meridien  a 
l'egard  du  premier  meridien  qui  passe  par  l'isle  de  fer,  j'y  ai  pu  rap- 
porter  les  cartes  de  la  Chine. 

C'est  a  ce  premier  meridien  qui  passe  par  l'isle  de  fer  que  je  me 
suis  regie  pour  marquer  toutes  les  longitudes  de  ma  carte.  Pour  ce 
qui  est  de  la  longitude  du  Kamtchatka  et  des  cotes  voisines  j'ai  pu 
aussi  la  rapporter  au  meridien  de  l'isle  de  fer,  par  l'examen  que  j'ai 
fait  des  deux  eclipses  de  Lune  observees  au  Kamtchat  par  M.  le  Cap- 
itaine Beerings  et  par  ses  gens  dans  sa  premiere  expedition,  et  que 
j'ai  comparees  avec  les  memes  observations  faitesen  Europe,  etc. 

Du  Cote  de  l'Asie,  j'ai  peint  en  jaune  les  isles  qui  composent  l'em- 
pire  du  Japon,  et  en  bleu  la  terre  d'Yego  et  les  autres  isles  et  terres 
voisines  decouvertes  par  les  Hollandois,  Japonnpis  et  autres. 

La  situation  du  Japon  est  assez  bien  connue  par  la  distance  ou  Ton 
sait  qu'il  est  de  la  Coree.  L'on  est  aussi  assure  de  l'entendue  et  de 
la  situation  entre  elles  de  toutes  les  isles  qui  composent  l'empire  du 
Japon,  et  cela  par  les  observations,  cartes  et  memoires  des  Missionaires 
Jesuites,  du  terns  qu'ils  prechorent  l'Evangele  dans  cet  empire;  et 
depuis  qu'ils  en  ont  ete  chasses  l'on  a  les  Memoires  des  Hollandois; 
et  en  dernier  lieu  ceux  de  Kemfer  assurent  encore  la  situation  geo- 
graphique  de  cet  empire  et  de  ses  dependances.  Pour  ce  qui  est  de 
laterre  d'Yego  ou  d'Eso,  de  l'isle  des  Etats  et  de  la  terre  de  la  Com- 
pagnie  que  j'ai  marquees  au  nord  du  Japon,  entre  cet  empire  et  le 
Kamtchatka  j'ai  suivi  les  cartes  Hollandoises  ou  ces  pais  sont  mar- 
ques d'apres  le  journal  de  marine  de  la  navigation  qui  y  a  ete  faite  par 
les  Hollandois,  l'an  1643. 

Les  Hollandois  n'ont  pas  publie  le  journal  meme  de  cette  naviga- 


MEMOIR  PRESENTED  TO  THE  SENATE  311 

Eastern  Tartary  as  far  as  the  possessions  of  His  Imperial  Majesty 
of  all  the  Russias.  The  territory  in  this  far  east  which  is  marked  in 
green  has  been  discovered  and  conquered  by  Russia.  I  have  made 
no  attempt  to  do  anything  more  than  mark  the  coast  line  but  this  is 
accurately  done.  The  coasts  of  China  and  dependent  countries  are 
traced  after  Chinese  maps,  and  those  of  regions  belonging  to  Russia 
are  based  on  the  surveys  made  by  Captain  Beerings  in  his  first  ex- 
pedition. The  Chinese  maps  which  I  used  follow  the  meridian  of 
Peking,  the  relation  between  this  meridian  and  that  of  St.  Peters- 
burg is  known  to  me  through  several  observations  of  the  satellites  of 
Jupiter  made  at  different  times,  and  since  one  knows  also,  through  a 
large  number  of  observations  made  at  St.  Petersburg,  the  situation 
of  its  meridian  in  regard  to  the  first  meridian  which  passes  through 
the  island  of  Fer,  I  have  been  able  to  work  from  the  Chinese  maps. 

In  marking  all  the  longitudes  on  my  map  I  have  been  guided  by 
this  first  meridian  which  passes  through  the  isle  of  Fer.  As  to  the 
longitude  of  Kamchatka  and  the  neighboring  regions  I  knew  them 
also  in  relation  to  the  meridian  of  the  Isle  of  Fer.  I  worked  this 
out  by  examining  the  two  eclipses  of  the  moon  which  were  observed 
at  Kamchatka  by  Captain  Beerings  and  those  with  him  on  his  first 
expedition,  and  by  comparing  them  with  the  same  observations  made 
in  Europe,  etc. 

On  the  Asiatic  coast  I  have  painted  in  yellow  the  islands  which 
make  up  the  empire  of  Japan,  and  in  blue  Yeco  Land  and  all  the 
other  islands  and  adjoining  territories  discovered  by  the  Dutch,  Jap- 
anese, and  others. 

The  position  of  Japan  is  sufficiently  well  known  from  the  dis- 
tance which  separates  it  from  Korea.  The  extent  and  the  distance 
of  the  different  Japanese  islands  from  each  other  is  also  well  known 
through  the  observations,  maps,  and  memoirs  of  the  Jesuit  mission- 
aries at  the  time  when  they  preached  the  Gospel  in  that  empire. 
Since  their  expulsion  we  have  had  the  memoijrs  of  the  Dutch,  and 
more  recently  those  of  Kemfer  make  clear  the  geographic  situation 
of  this  empire  and  its  dependencies.  As  to  Yeco  Land  or  Eso,  State 
Island,  and  Company  Land  which  I  have  located  north  of  Japan, 
between  that  empire  and  Kamchatka,  I  have  followed  the  Dutch 
maps  on  which  these  places  are  indicated  after  the  journal  of  the  navi- 
gation made  by  the  Dutch  in  the  year  1643. 

The  Dutch  have  not  published  the  journal  of  the  said  navigation ; 


3i2  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

tion :  mais  comme  ils  sont  parti  du  cap  Nabo  ou  de  Goree  qui  est  a  la 
partie  la  plus  septentrionale  du  Japon,  et  qu'ils  ont  marques  sur  leurs 
cartes  la  situation  de  la  terre  d'Yego  a  l'egard  de  ce  cap  Nabo,  cela 
m'a  suffi  pour  placer  exactement  cette  terre  d'Yeco,  l'isle  des  Etats, 
et  la  terre  de  la  Compagnie  d'apres  les  cartes  Hollandoises. 

La  cote  de  la  terre  d'Yeco  qui  regarde  la  Tartarie  n'est  pas  ter- 
minee dans  les  cartes  Hollandois  mais  j'ai  trace  legerement  cette  cote 
en  faisant  de  la  terre  d'Yego  une  isle,  et  laissant  un  canal  ou  bras  de 
mer  entre  cette  cote  d'Yego  et  celle  de  Tartarie.  J'ai  trouve  un 
indice  ou  une  preuve  que  cela  devoit  etre  ainsi,  et  cela  par  une  des 
premieres  relations  que  Ton  a  de  la  terre  d'Yego,  dans  laquelle  il  est 
dit  qu'a  l'occident  de  cette  terre  il  ya  un  detroit  que  Ton  ne  peut  passer 
a  cause  de  la  rapidite  du  courant,  etc. 

L'Etendue  que  j'ai  donnee  a  la  terre  d'Yego  dans  ma  carte,  ne 
contredit  pas  a  la  situation  d'une  grande  isle  que  les  cartes  Chinoises 
mettent  vis  a  vis  de  l'embrouchure  de  la  riviere  d'Amour.  Enfin 
cette  meme  position  d'entendue  que  j'ai  donnee  dans  ma  carte  a  la 
terre  d'Yego  n'empeche  pas  que  Ton  ne  puisse  placer  les  petites  isles 
que  Ton  voit  sur  ma  carte  peintes  en  verd,  situees  entre  la  terre 
d'Yego  et  la  pointre  meridionale  du  Kamtchatka.  II  est  vrai  que  dans 
plusieurs  cartes  manuscrites  que  Ton  a  faites  dans  le  pais  sur  differens 
rapports  de  gens  qui  ont  ete  au  Kamtchatka  Ton  marque  a  la  place 
de  ce  petit  tas  d'isles  une  suite  d'isles  beaucoup  plus  grandes  qui  s'en- 
tendent  depuis  la  pointe  meridionale  du  Kamtchatka  jusqu'au 
Japon ;  mais  comme  ces  cartes  ne  sont  ni  orientees  ni  reglees  suivant 
les  latitudes,  et  que  d'ailleurs,  par  les  observations  et  la  carte  du 
Geodist  Evreinow  Ton  voit  que  ces  isles  n'occupent  pas  plus  de  deux 
degres,  c'est  ce  qui  me  les  a  fait  placer  ainsi  dans  ma  carte,  sans  que 
leur  situation  contredisse  a  cette  que  j'avois  donnee  a  la  terre  d'Yego. 

Dans  les  cartes  Hollandoises  la  terre  de  la  Compagnie  n'est  pas 
terminee  a  l'orient;  apparement  parceque  les  Hollandois  n'y  ont  pas 
ete:  mais  aiant  trouve  dans  les  dernieres  cartes  de  feu  mon  frere  la 
terre  de  la  Compagnie  terminee  a  l'orient  par  une  cote  et  par  quelques 
isles,  j'ai  cru  devoir  le  suivre  en  cela,  jugeant  bien  qu'il  ne  l'aura  pas 
fait  sans  fondement,  quoiqu'il  n'en  paroisse  pas  fort  assure,  puis  qu'il 
n'a  marque  cette  cote  orientale  de  la  terre  de  la  Compagnie  et  les  isles 
adjacentes,  que  d'un  trait  leger,  qui  etoit  la  maniere  dont  il  avoit 
coutume  de  se  servir  pour  marquer  ce  dont  il  etoit  moins  assure. 


MEMOIR  PRESENTED  TO  THE  SENATE  313 

but  as  they  sailed  from  Cape  Nabo  or  Goree,  which  is  the  most 
northerly  part  of  Japan,  and  as  they  have  indicated  on  their  maps  the 
situation  of  Yeco  Land  in  relation  to  Cape  Nabo,  I  have  been  able  to 
locate  exactly  this  Yeco  Land,  State  Island,  and  Company  Land  by 
following  the  Dutch  charts. 

The  coast  of  Yeco  Land  in  its  relation  to  Tartary  is  not  brought 
to  an  end  on  the  Dutch  maps,  but  I  have  traced  lightly  that  coast  in 
making  of  the  Yeco  Land  an  island,  and  leaving  a  channel  or  an  arm 
of  the  sea  between  Yeco  and  Tartary.  I  have  some  reason  or  proof 
for  believing  that  this  is  the  true  situation  because  in  one  of  the  ear- 
liest accounts  which  we  have  of  this  Yeco  Land,  it  is  said  that  on  the 
west  of  it  there  is  a  strait  which  one  is  unable  to  pass  on  account  of 
the  rapidity  of  the  current,  etc. 

The  extent  which  I  have  marked  of  the  Yeco  Land  in  my  map 
does  not  conflict  with  the  position  of  a  large  island  which  the  Chi- 
nese maps  have  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  river  Amur.  Neither  does 
the  situation  and  extent  which  I  give  on  my  map  to  Yeco  Land  make 
it  impossible  to  locate  a  number  of  small  islands,  which  I  have  done, 
between  Yeco  Land  and  the  southern  point  of  Kamchatka.  It  is 
true  that  on  many  manuscript  maps  which  one  has  made  in  the  coun- 
try, based  on  accounts  of  people  who  have  been  in  Kamchatka,  one 
has  located,  in  place  of  this  small  group  of  islands,  a  chain  of  larger 
islands  which  reach  out  from  the  most  southern  point  of  Kamchatka 
to  Japan.  But  as  these  maps  are  not  constructed  according  to  lati- 
tudes, and  since,  moreover,  by  the  observations  and  map  of  the  geodist 
Evreinof  these  islands  do  not  take  up  more  than  two  degrees,  this  is 
why  I  have  located  them  in  this  manner  on  my  map,  their  situation 
not  necessarily  conflicting  with  that  which  I  have  given  to  Yeco  Land. 

On  the  Dutch  maps,  Company  Land  has  no  limits  on  the  east, 
probably  because  the  Dutch  have  never  been  there.  I  have,  how- 
ever, found  among  the  maps  of  my  deceased  brother  that  Company 
Land  is  limited  on  the  east  by  a  coast  line  and  by  several  islands  and 
in  this  I  have  followed  him,  knowing  full  well  that  he  must  have 
had  good  reason  for  his  action,  although  it  would  seem  that  he  was 
not  very  sure  of  his  ground  because  the  coast  of  Company  Land  and 
the  adjacent  islands  he  traced  very  faintly,  which  was  his  usual  way 
of  indicating  that  he  was  not  very  sure  of  his  position. 


APPENDIX  G 

RAPPORT  EN  RUSSE  AVEC  LA  TRADUCTION  SUR  LES 

HABITANS   TROUVEZ    LE   9/20   SEPTEMBRE    1741 

DANS  UN  PORT  AUPREZ  DU  KAMCHATKA  AU 

RETOUR  DE  VOYAGE  QUE  LE  CAPITAINE 

ALEXIS  TCHIRIKOV  ET  MON  FRERE  t 

ONT  FAIT  VERS  L'AMERIQUE  533 

On  trouve  a  la  fin  le  resultat  avec  la  traduction  du  dernier  en- 
droit  ou  l'on  s'etoit  avance  dans  le  sus  dit  voyage. 

Traduction 

Le  9  Septembre  (1741  anc  style)  la  Latitude  a  ete  observee  de 
51  °  12'  et  la  Longitude  u°  54'  6"  le  Rhombe  du  Vent  du  Sud-Est 
etoit  77  04,  la  distance  451  (ou  70  31')  a  8  heure  du  matin  les 
brouillards  etant  un  peu  dissipes  nous  vimes  une  cote  a  la  distance  de 
200  sagens;  qui  a  des  hautes  Montagnes  et  des  grandes  herbes  la  vue 
etoit  verte,  mais  nous  ne  vimes  point  de  bois.  Les  endroits  de  cette 
cote  vers  la  mer  sont  fort  etroits,  et  il  ya  une  grande  quantite  de 
pierres  sur  la  cote  et  sous  l'eau.  Nous  appercumes  deux  personnes 
qui  alloient  du  nord  vers  de  Midi  sur  l'herbe  sous  une  haute  mon- 
tagne  aupres  d'un  ruisseau,  et  il  est  vrai-semblable  qu'ils  nous  ont  vu, 
puisque  ils  venoit  plus  pres  pour  mieux  examiner  notre  batiment, 
nous  leur  criames  en  Langue  Russe  et  Kamtschatka  pour  venir  chez 
nous,  et  vers  le  9  heures  nous  entendimes  une  voix  des  personnes  qui 
vennoient  de  la  cote  du  se  [  ?]  vers  notre  Batiment,  mais  nous  vimes 
point  du  Monde  et  on  ne  pouvoit  point  distinguer  leur  voix  acause 
de  la  tempete,  cependant  nous  leur  criames  toujours  par  une  trompete 
et  sans  trompete  en  les  priant  de  venir  chez  nous. 

A  9  heures  nous  vimes  venir  vers  notre  Batiment  7  petits  bateaux 
dans  chacun  de  ces  Bateaux  il  n'y  avoit  qu'une  personne,  la  longueur 
de  ces  Bateaux  etoit  environ  de  15  pieds,  et  la  largeur  de  3,  le  devant 

t  Louis  Del'Isle  De  la  Croyere.  -  Orig. 
533  Delisle  Mss.,  no.  xxv,  21. 


APPENDIX  G 

A  REPORT  IN  RUSSIAN,  WITH  THE  TRANSLATION,  ON 

THE  INHABITANTS  FOUND  ON  SEPTEMBER  20,  1741 

IN   A  PORT   NEAR  KAMCHATKA  BY   CAPTAIN 

ALEXIS  CHIRIKOF  AND  MY  BROTHER  t  IN 

THE   VOYAGE  WHICH  THEY    MADE 

TO  AMERICA 

At  the  end  will  be  found,  in  translation,  the  situation  of  the  place 
reached  on  the  said  voyage. 

Translation 

The  ninth  of  September  1741  [old  style],  latitude  fifty-one  de- 
grees, twelve  minutes,  longitude  eleven  degrees,  fifty-four  minutes, 
six  seconds,  the  rhumb  of  the  wind  from  the  southeast  being  seventy- 
seven  degrees,  four  minutes,  the  distance  four  hundred  fifty-one  (or 
seven  degrees,  thirty-one  minutes),  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when 
the  fog  had  lifted  somewhat  we  saw  land  about  two  hundred  sajen 
from  us.  We  could  see  mountains  and  tall  green  grass  but  no  trees. 
The  beach  is  very  irregular  and  broken  up,  and  there  are  many 
rocks  above  and  below  the  water.  We  noticed  two  persons  at  the 
foot  of  a  mountain  walking  on  the  grass  alongside  of  a  stream  and 
advancing  from  north  to  south.  They  apparently  observed  us  be- 
cause they  came  closer  towards  us  for  the  purpose  of  examining  our 
boat.  We  called  to  them  in  the  Russian  and  in  the  Kamchatka 
language  to  come  to  us,  and  towards  nine  o'clock  we  heard  the  voices 
of  people  who  were  coming  from  the  shore  towards  our  boat,  but  we 
could  see  no  one  and  could  not  make  out  their  voices  on  account  of 
the  storm.  We,  nevertheless,  continued  calling  to  them  through  a 
trumpet  and  without  it  to  come  to  us. 

About  nine  o'clock  we  saw  approaching  our  ship  seven  small  boats 
in  each  of  which  there  was  one  person.  The  length  of  each  of  these 
boats  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  fifteen  feet  and  the  width  three  feet. 

fLouis  DePIsle  De   la  Croyere.  -  Orig. 


316  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

est  fort  pointu,  et  la  poupe  arondie,  ils  sont  partout  entoures  de  pean 
de  chien  marin  ou  d'autres.  le  tillac  est  arrondi,  et  couvert  d'une 
meme  pean,  a  la  poupe  il  ya  un  trou  rond  ou  rhomme  se  met,  qui  est 
vetu  d'une  chemise  avec  un  cocluchon  faite  des  boiaux  de  Balene  ou 
d'autres  Betes  maritimes  il  y  a  des  cordes  de  pois  qui  sont  attachees  au 
trou,  avec  lesquelles  l'hommes  se  noue,  et  il  y  avoit  cependant  quel- 
ques  uns  qui  n'etoient  pas  noues,  ils  avoient  aussi  autour  d'eux  des 
pierres  dans  les  Bateaux,  leurs  rames  sont  doubles  faites  du  bois  de 
boulau  bien  legerment,  avec  lesquelles  ils  rames  des  deux  cote,  ils  vont 
dans  cet  bateaux  tres  hardiment  et  fort  vit  sans  craindre  les  vagues 
les  plus  forts.  Etant  venu  a  la  distance  de  50  sagens  de  notre  Bati- 
ment,  ils  commencerent  tous  a  crier  et  a  se  tourner  des  deux  cotes 
pas  d'une  maniere  comme  s'ils  vouloient  nous  parler,  mais  comme  les 
Jakouts  et  les  Toungousses  quand  ils  veulent  sorceler,  ce  qui  nous  fit 
connoitre,  que  les  personnes  qui  etoient  venu  chez  nous  faissoient  des 
sorcelages  suivant  leur  maniere,  ou  des  prieres,  afin  que  nous  ne 
puissions  pas  leur  faire  aucun  tord,  mais  on  ne  peut  pas  savoir  posi- 
tiviment  pour  quoi  ils  ont  criez  si  epouvantablement,  apres  avoir 
cries  ainsi  pendant  une  demi  quart  d'heure,  ils  commencerent  a  se 
parler  d'une  maniere  ordinaire,  dans  ce  terns  la  nous  leur  faissions 
des  mines  agreables  en  leur  faissant  des  reverences  et  donnant  des 
signes  pour  les  faire  venir  pres  de  notre  Batiment,  cependant  ils 
n'oserent  pas  venir  plus  pres,  ils  faissoient  des  mouvemens  des  mains 
comme  s'ils  preparoient  des  arcs,  ce  qui  nous  fit  juger  qu'ils  craini- 
soint  que  nous  ne  fissions  du  efeux  sur  eux,  ce  qui  fait  que  nous  leur 
donnames  a  connoitre  autant  qu'il  etoit  possible,  que  nous  leur  ferons 
aucun  tord,  et  en  mettant  nos  mains  sur  la  poitrine,  nous  leur  fimes 
connoitre  qu'ils  seroient  recu  par  nous  en  ami,  en  meme  terns  j'ai 
jette  vers  eux  dans  l'eau  une  tasse  chinoise  en  les  priant  de  la  recevoir 
pour  une  marque  d'amitie  pour  pouvoir  mieux  les  attirer  aupres  de 
notre  Batiment  un  parmis  ces  gens  la  prit  la  tasse  et  en  faissant  des 
mouvemens  des  mains,  il  fit  comprendre  qu'il  n'en  avoit  pas  besoin, 
et  vouloit  la  rejetter  sur  notre  Batiment,  alors  nous  lui  fimes  des 
reverences  en  le  priant  de  la  garder  pour  lui,  mais  il  la  jetta  dans 
l'eau.  Apres  cela  j'ai  ordonne  de  couper  deux  morceaux  de  satin, 
que  j'ai  jette  dans  l'eau  en  les  priant  de  venir  pres  de  notre  batiment, 
ils  prirent  ces  morceaux  de  satin  et  apres  les  avoir  garde  un  peu  de 
terns  ils  les  rejetterent  sans  prendre  rien  pour  eux.  Ensuite  j'ordon- 
noit  d'apporter  quelques  Marchandises  parmis  les  presens,  savoir  des 


NATIVES  FOUND  NEAR  KAMCHATKA  317 

The  prow  is  very  pointed,  the  deck  and  the  stern  somewhat  round 
and  the  whole  covered  with  the  skins  of  hair  seal  or  some  other  ani- 
mal except  one  round  hole  on  deck  for  the  boatman,  who  is  dressed 
in  a  kind  of  shirt  with  hood  made  of  the  intestines  of  whale  or  other 
sea  animals.  Around  each  hole  in  the  boat  are  leather  cords  with 
which  the  men  tie  themselves  to  the  boats,  yet  several  of  the  men 
were  not  tied.  They  had  also  near  them  in  their  boats  rocks,  and 
they  used  the  double  paddle,  lightly  made  out  of  wood,  paddling  first 
on  one  side  and  then  on  the  other.  They  travel  very  boldly  and 
swiftly  without  being  afraid  of  the  biggest  waves.  When  these  men 
had  come  within  fifty  sajens  of  our  boat  they  all  began  to  shout  and 
to  turn  first  to  one  side  and  then  to  the  other,  not  as  if  wishing  to 
speak  to  us,  but  more  as  the  Jakuts  and  Tungus  do  when  engaged  in 
witchcraft,  which  led  us  to  think  that  our  visitors  were  engaged,  ac- 
cording to  their  own  custom,  in  some  similar  occupation,  or  praying 
that  we  might  not  cause  them  any  harm,  but  we  can  not  say  with 
certainty  why  they  made  such  a  frightful  noise.  After  having  shouted 
in  this  manner  for  seven  or  eight  minutes  they  began  to  talk  among 
themselves  in  an  ordinary  tone  of  voice.  During  this  time  we 
smiled  on  them  and  made  them  salutations,  beckoning  them  to  come 
nearer  our  ship.  This,  however,  they  refused  to  do,  making  gestures 
as  if  they  were  preparing  bows  and  arrows.  These  signs  led  us  to 
think  that  they  feared  we  would  fire  on  them,  and  we,  therefore,  as- 
sured them  as  much  as  we  were  able  under  the  circumstances,  that 
we  would  not  harm  them.  By  placing  our  hands  on  our  hearts  we 
tried  to  tell  them  that  they  would  be  received  by  us  as  friends.  In 
order  to  draw  them  near  to  us  I  threw  towards  them  a  Chinese  cup 
asking  them  to  accept  it  as  a  sign  of  friendship.  One  of  their  men 
picked  up  the  cup  and  then  made  some  gestures  to  signify  that  he  had 
no  need  of  it.  He  was  on  the  point  of  throwing  it  back  on  board 
when  we  begged  him  to  keep  it  but  he  cast  it  into  the  sea.  After  this 
I  ordered  that  two  pieces  of  satin  should  be  cut  which  were  thrown 
into  the  water  and  the  men  were  asked  to  approach  our  ship.  They 
picked  up  the  satin  and  after  keeping  it  a  short  time  they  put  it  away 
from  them.     Finally  I  had  other  things  brought,  such  as  beads,  bells, 


318         RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

pierres  rouges  des  sonnettes  des  aiguilles,  du  tabac  de  la  Chine  et  des 
pipes,  et  en  leurs  montrant  ces  choses  je  les  priois  de  venir  plus  pres 
du  Batiment  je  n'avoit  pas  beaucoup  du  monde  sur  le  Tillac,  parceque 
j'avois  ordonne  a  la  plus  grande  partie  de  se  tenir  sous  le  Tillac  sous 
les  armes  pour  notre  surete,  apres  les  avoir  fait  comprendre  par  toute 
sorte  de  mines,  que  s'ils  venoient  pres  de  notre  Batiment  ils  ne  leurs 
sera  rien  fait  du  mal,  ce  qui  les  a  encourage  de  plus,  c'est  que  nous 
leur  montames,  que  nous  n'avions  plus  d'eau  ni  de  quoi  boire,  en  les 
priant  de  nous  aider  la  dans,  un  moment  apres  un  venant  fort  pres  de 
notre  Batiment,  nous  lui  donnames  du  tabac  de  la  Chine  avec  une 
pipe,  qu'il  recu  et  mit  aupres  de  lui  sur  le  Tillac,  ce  qui  fit  venir  tous 
les  autres  pres  du  Batiment,  nous  leur  donnames  des  sonnettes  des 
pierres  rouges  et  des  aiguilles,  ce  qu'ils  regurent  sans  temoigne  beau- 
coup  de  contentement,  aparement  ne  sachant  pas  a  quoi  les  employer, 
et  nous  appercumes  qu'ils  ne  savoient  pas  que  le  cuivre  et  les  aiguilles 
s'anfonses  dans  l'eau,  parceque  qu'ils  ne  les  sererent  [  ?]   pas,  car  il 
arrivoit  que  quelqu'une  des  choses  tomboit  dans  l'eau  ils  ne  les  em- 
pechoient  point  de  tomber  mais  ils  gardoient  seulement  l'endroit  ou 
cela  etoit  tombe.     Nous  appercumes  qu'il  y  avoit  parmis  eux  quelques 
uns  qui  avoient  porte   leurs  mains  a   la   bouche  et  avec   l'autre  ils 
faissoient  comme  s'ils  coupoient  quelque  chose  et  tout  d'un  coup  ils 
auterent  leurs  mains,  ce  qui  nous  fit  comprendre,  qu'ils  nous  demander 
des  couteaux,  parce  que  les  Kamtchadels  et  les  autres  nations  de  ces 
environs  ci,  coupent  les  viandes  en  mangeant  au  pres  de  la  bouche. 
J'ordonnoit  de  leurs  donner  un  couteau,  qu'ils  recurent  avec  beau- 
coup  de  joie  en  l'arrachant  de  l'un  et  l'autres,  et  nous  prierent  insta- 
ment  de  leur  donner  des  couteaux ;  apres  cela  nous  les  prieames  quel- 
ques uns  de  venir  sur  notre  Batiment  pour  mieux  faire  voir  la  bonne 
intention  dans  laquelle  ils  etoient  d'agir  avec  nous  en  ami,  esperant 
de  pouvoir  engager  quelques  uns  pour  venir  avec  nous  suivant  l'in- 
struction  donnee  a  mons.  le  Capitaine  Commandeur ;  nous  n'avons  non 
seulement  pu  engage  personne  avec  nous,  ne  pouvant  pas  les  parler, 
mais  pas  meme  de  venir  sur  notre  Batiment,  peut  etre  pouvoient  ils 
comprendre  se  que  nous  voulions  par  nos  instantes  prieres  de  venir 
sur  notre  Batiment.     Pendant  ce  tems  la  nous  voulions  leur  donner 
un  petit  tonneau  pour  nous  aller  de  l'eau  a  terre,  mais  ne  voulerent 
pas  recevoir  ce  tonneau,  nous  montrant  des  vessies,  dans  lesquelles  ils 
vouloient  nous  apporter  de  l'eau,  dabord  trois  Bateaux  partir  pour 
aller  a  terre  nous  apporter  de  l'eau,  et  apres  etre  revenu  aupres  du 


NATIVES  FOUND  NEAR  KAMCHATKA  319 

needles,  Chinese  tobacco  and  pipes,  and  showing  them  these  objects 
I  asked  them  to  come  nearer  the  boat.  I  had  not  many  people  on 
deck  at  the  time,  the  greater  part  being  below  decks  under  arms  in 
case  there  was  need  of  them.  We  did  all  that  we  could  to  assure 
them  that  if  they  would  come  near  our  boat  no  harm  would  befall 
them.  That  which  had  the  greatest  influence  with  them  was  that 
we  showed  them  that  we  had  no  water  nor  anything  else  to  drink 
and  we  begged  them  to  help  us  procure  the  same.  A  moment  later 
one  of  the  visitors  came  quite  close  to  our  ship.  We  gave  him  some 
Chinese  tobacco  and  a  pipe  which  he  took  and  placed  on  deck  of  his 
boat.  A  little  later  the  others  also  approached  and  we  gave  them 
small  bells,  beads  and  needles,  all  of  which  they  received  indiffer- 
ently, apparently  being  ignorant  of  what  use  to  put  them.  We 
also  observed  that  they  did  not  know  that  copper  and  needles  sink, 
because  it  happened  that  one  of  these  things  fell  into  the  water  and 
they  made  no  attempt  to  stop  it  but  merely  watched  the  spot  where 
it  disappeared.  We  noticed  that  several  of  them  held  their  hands 
near  their  mouths  and  with  one  of  the  hands  they  worked  as  if  they 
were  cutting  something,  and  then  all  of  a  sudden  they  took  their 
hands  away.  This  made  us  think  that  they  would  like  to  have 
knives,  because  the  Kamchadels  and  other  nations  of  that  region  cut 
the  meat  near  the  mouth  as  they  are  eating  it.  I  requested  that  a 
knife  should  be  given  to  them,  which  they  received  with  gladness  and 
began  fighting  over  it  and  begged  us  to  give  them  more  knives. 
After  this  we  asked  them  to  come  on  board  and  thus  show  us  that 
they  are  really  friendly  to  us,  in  this  manner  we  hoped  to  induce  sever- 
al of  them  to  come  with  us  in  obedience  to  the  instructions  given  to  the 
captain-commander.  But  not  only  did  we  fail  in  this  but  we  could 
not  even  persuade  them  to  come  on  board ;  it  may  perhaps  be  that 
they  suspected  our  intentions  from  our  too  urgent  entreaties  to  them 
to  come  on  deck.  During  this  procedure  we  handed  to  them  a  small 
cask  suggesting  that  they  go  to  the  shore  and  bring  us  fresh  water, 
but  they  would  not  take  the  cask.  When  we  showed  them  some 
bladders  they  consented  to  fetch  us  water.  At  first  three  small  boats 
left  and  when  they  returned   one  of   them  held  out  a  bladder  and 


320  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Batiment,  ils  nous  donnerent  une  vessie  en  demandant  pour  cela  un 
couteau,  j'ai  ordonne  de  lui  donner  un,  et  apres  l'avoir  recu  il  ne 
rendi  point  l'eau  mais  la  donnoit  a  son  camerade  en  montrant  qu'il 
falloit  lui  aussi  donner  un  couteau  pour  la  meme  vessie  de  l'eau  ce 
qui  nous  fit  connoitre  y  ajoutant  d'autres  actions  semblables  que 
s'etoient  des  gens  de  mauvaise  foix.  C'est  sont  des  hommes  d'une 
grande  stature,  leur  visage  est  semblable  a  celui  des  Tartars  mais 
pales,  et  ils  nous  parroissoient  qu'ils  se  portoient  bien,  ils  n'ont  presque 
point  de  barbe  peut  etre  de  natur  ou  qu'ils  se  les  arrachoient,  ce  que 
nous  ne  savons  pas  positiviment,  nous  n'avons  pas  remarque  que  deux 
ou  trois  avec  des  petites  barbes,  ils  ont  aussi  des  pierres  dans  leurs  nes, 
qui  les  font  segner  du  ne,  ils  mangent  des  racines,  dont  ils  nous  en 
faissoient  present  en  nous  priant  de  les  manger,  nous  avons  apporte 
une  petite  quantite  de  ces  racines  pour  pouvoir  les  connoitre,  et  nous 
leurs  donnames  en  echange  des  biscuits.  Ils  nous  ont  aussi  apporte 
quelques  mines  [  ?]  enveloppees  dans  des  feuilles  des  plantes  mari- 
times.  II  n'y  avoit  point  d'autres  choses  sur  leurs  Bateaux  si  non  des 
fleches  dont  nous  avons  pu  obtenir  quatre  d'eux.  Ils  avoient  sur 
leurs  tetes  des  especes  de  chapeaux  faits  des  planches  de  bouleaux  bien 
minces,  peintes  de  differes  couleurs  et  ces  chapeaux  etoient  ornes  de 
plumes,  quelques  unes  parmis  eux  avoient  des  statues  d'os  attaches  sur 
leurs  chapeaux,  nous  avons  pu  obtenir  d'eux  un  pareil  chapeau  pour 
lequel  nous  leurs  donnames  une  mechante  hache,  qu'ils  recurent  avec 
beaucoup  de  joie,  Nous  leur  fimes  present  d'une  marmitte  de  cuivre, 
mais  apres  qu'ils  l'avoient  garde  pendant  quelque  terns,  ils  nous  la 
rendirent,  et  etant  ainsi  reste  asses  long  tems  aupres  de  notre  Bati- 
ment, ils  s'en  a  aller  a  terre.  L'apres  midi  ils  sont  encore  venu  en  14 
Bateaux  de  meme  une  personne  dans  chacun,  parmis  lesquelles  il  y 
avoit  quelques  uns  qui  etoient  venu  le  matin,  en  arrivant  aupres  du 
Batiment  ils  faissoient  le  meme  crie  que  precedement,  quoi  quils  sont 
reste  plus  de  trois  ou  quatre  heures  pres  du  Batiment  cependant  nous 
n'avons  pu  engage  personne  de  venir  sur  le  bord,  ils  parlerent  beau- 
coup  mais  nous  pouvions  rien  comprendre  n'aiant  point  d'intrerprete, 
et  je  crois  qu'ils  seroient  reste  encore  plus  long  tems,  si  je  n'avois  pas 
moi  meme  fais  donne  de  signals  pour  les  faire  retirer,  parceque  le  vent 
commencoit  a  venir  un  peu  fort,  par  lequel  nous  pouvions  quoi  qu'avec 
de  la  peine  sortir  du  golfe  dans  lequel  nous  etions  entre  avec  beaucoup 
de  difficulte.  De  sorte  que  nous  somes  sorti  de  cet  endroit  avec  l'aide 
de  Dieu  par  le  meme  vent,  apres  avoir  beaucoup  souffert  et  apres 
avoir  perdu  un  ancre. 

Le   10  dans  celieu,  etc:     Nous  avons  reconu  cette  cote  pour  la 


NATIVES  FOUND  NEAR  KAMCHATKA  321 

asked  in  return  a  knife.  I  ordered  that  a  knife  should  be  given  to 
him,  when  he  had  it  he  passed  the  water  over  to  his  companion  de- 
siring that  a  knife  should  be  given  to  him  also  for  the  same  bladder 
of  water.  From  this  and  other  similar  actions  on  their  part  we  con- 
cluded that  they  could  not  be  trusted.  They  are  men  of  large 
stature,  their  features  resemble  those  of  the  Tartars  with  this  differ- 
ence that  they  are  paler.  They  seem  to  be  in  good  health.  They 
have  almost  no  beard,  perhaps  naturally  so  or  it  may  be  that  they 
pluck  the  hair,  we  can  not  say  which,  since  we  noticed  only  two  or 
three  with  small  beards.  They  wear  also  stones  in  their  noses  which 
makes  the  nose  bleed.  They  eat  roots,  several  of  which  they  pre- 
sented us  asking  that  we  eat  them,  a  number  of  which  we  brought 
back  with  us  so  that  it  might  be  determined  what  they  are.  In  ex- 
change for  the  roots  we  gave  them  biscuits.  They  brought  us  also 
several  [illegible]  wrapped  in  seaweed.  All  that  they  had  on 
their  boats  were  arrows  of  which  we  secured  four.  On  their  heads 
they  wear  a  kind  of  a  hat  made  of  very  fine  boards  painted  in  various 
colors,  trimmed  with  feathers  or  with  small  ivory  figures.  We  were 
able  to  get  one  of  these  hats  by  giving  them  in  exchange  an  axe  that 
was  of  little  value  and  which  they  were  very  glad  to  have.  We  made 
them  a  present  of  a  copper  kettle  which,  after  keeping  it  for  a  short 
time,  they  gave  back  to  us.  After  remaining  a  considerable  time 
near  our  ship  they  returned  to  shore.  In  the  afternoon  they  came 
again  in  fourteen  boats,  one  person  to  a  boat,  among  whom  were  sev- 
eral whom  we  had  seen  in  the  morning.  On  coming  near  our  ship 
they  made  the  same  cry  as  before.  Although  they  remained  more 
than  three  or  four  hours  close  to  our  boat  we  could  not  coax  them  on 
board.  They  talked  a  great  deal  but  we  could  not  understand  what 
they  said  because  we  had  no  interpreter.  I  think  they  would  have 
stayed  with  us  longer  if  I  had  not  signalled  for  them  to  leave,  be- 
cause a  strong  wind  began  to  blow  with  which  we  were  able,  al- 
though with  difficulty,  to  depart  from  the  gulf  which  we  entered 
with  much  trouble.  So  that  we  went  from  this  place,  with  the  help 
of  God,  with  the  same  wind,  after  having  suffered  a  great  deal  and 
with  the  loss  of  an  anchor. 

The  tenth  in  the  same :    We  have  identified  this  coast  as  America, 


322  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

veritable  Amerique  dont  la  Latitude  est  re  55  °  36'  3"  la  longitude 
de  61  °  51'  le  Rhombe  du  vent  de  Nord-Est  850  42'  la  distance  de 
2178'  a  la  quelle  nous  etions  arrive  le  15  Juillet  a  heures  du  matin, 
cette  cote  etoit  du  nord  au  sud  a  30'. 

NAVIGATION  ET  DECOUVERTE  DANS  LA  ROUTE  DE 

KAMTCHATKA  A  L'AMERIQUE   FAITE    EN  JUIN, 

JUILLET,  AOUST  ET  SEPTEMBRE  1741  PAR  LE 

CAPITAINE  ALEXIS  TCHIRIKOF  ET 

MON  FRERE  534 

(Suite  du  15  Juillet)  A  la  distance  de  4  min.  du  bord  vis  a  vis 
cet  endroit  le  bord  montagneux  ou  la  profondeur  de  l'eau  n'a  pas  ete 
moindre  que  60  sagens,  on  a  vu  la  terre  a  2  h.  apres  minuit  et  a  3 
heures  on  l'a  apercu  encore  mieux,  on  la  prise  pour  l'Amerique  lati- 
tude etoit  de  550  21'  sept,  la  long,  du  port  d'Avacha  61  °  55'. 

Vers  le  midi  le  coin  de  la  terre  finnissoit  au  sud-est  360  19'  a  la 
distance  de  30'  la  plus  proche  distance  a  al  terre  etoit  du  nord  vers 
Test  720  41'  (dep  20  triotpria  dira)  la  point  nord  etoit  Nord  Est 
190  41'  arrivant  par  le  nord  depuis  3  h. 

Apres  5h^  triotpriadira  [or  diva?]  au  font  meridional  340  41', 
auquel  terns  on  a  apercu  une  nouvelle  terre  plus  basse  au  Nord  Est 
390  22'  a  8  hy2  du  matin  vers  le  nord  on  ne  voioit  plus  le  bord  de- 
puis le  nord  330  o'. 

Le  16.  lat  560  15'  Long  6o°  57'  2"  Rh.  Nord  Est  840  48'  dis- 
tance 2140  on  a  envoie  le  bosman  Mama  avec  8  hommes  qui  a  dit 
qu'il  etoit  pas  possible  de  rester  dans  ce  port  n'etant  pas  a  couvert  du 
vent  du  nord. 

Le  17  latit  570  39'  long  580  54-'  2"  nord  est  820  43'  dist  2059 
a  la  distance  de  bord  de  3  ou  4  min. 

Le  18  Juillet  (1741)  le  maitre  de  la  flotte  nomme  Dementiev  a 
ete  envoie  a  terre  avec  10  personnes  a  4h*/2  apres  midi.  le  golfe  dans 
lequel  ce  maitre  a  ete  envoie  est  suivant  le  calcul  a  la  latitude  de  57 ° 
23'  la  longitude  depuis  le  port  d'Avatcha  590  36'  la  distance  2059 
(miles  dont  60  un  degre)  sous  le  Rhombe  N.  E.  820  28'  mais  la 
latitude  corigee  de  ce  golfe  est  57 °  50'  et  la  longitude  580  54'. 


534  Delisle  Mss.,  no.  xxv,  20,  C. 


DISCOVERY  ON  VOYAGE  FROM  KAMCHATKA    323 

in  latitude  fifty-five  degrees,  thirty-six  minutes,  three  seconds,  longi- 
tude sixty-one  degrees,  fifty-one  minutes,  rhumb  of  the  wind  of 
northeast  eighty-five  degrees,  forty-two  minutes,  the  distance  two 
thousand,  one  hundred  seventy-eight  minutes.  We  arrived  at  this 
spot  at  two  o'clock  of  the  morning  of  July  15.  This  coast  was  from 
north  to  south  at  thirty  minutes. 

NAVIGATION    AND    DISCOVERY    ON    THE    VOYAGE 
FROM  KAMCHATKA  TO  AMERICA  MADE  IN  JUNE, 
JULY,  AUGUST  AND  SEPTEMBER   1741  BY  CAP- 
TAIN ALEXIS  CHIRIKOF  AND  MY 
BROTHER  535 

(Continuation  from  the  fifteenth  [of]  July)  At  the  distance  of 
four  miles  off  the  shore,  opposite  this  place,  the  coast  being  moun- 
tainous, the  depth  of  the  water  not  being  less  than  sixty  fathoms,  one 
could  see  land  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  at  three  o'clock  it 
was  much  more  distinct.  We  took  this  land  for  America,  north  lat- 
itude 550  21',  and  longitude  from  Avacha  61  °  55'. 

Towards  noon  the  point  of  land  came  to  an  end  at  south  360  19'; 
east  at  the  distance  of  30'.  The  nearest  land  bore  north  720  41'; 
east  (dep.  20  .  .  .  triotpriadira  [?]).  The  northerly  point  bore 
north  190  41';  east,  ship  coming  from  the  north  since  three  o'clock. 

After  half  past  five  o'clock  triotpriadira  [  ?]  on  the  meridian  340 
41',  a  new  lower  land  came  in  view  at  north  390  22'  east.  At  half 
after  eight  in  the  morning  the  shore  disappeared  from  sight  towards 
north  330  (/  east. 

July  16,  latitude  560  15',  longitude  6o°  57'  2",  course  north 
840  48'  east,  distance  2,140,  the  Boatswain  Mama  with  eight  men 
was  sent  ashore.  On  his  return  he  reported  that  the  port  was  not 
safe  because  it  was  exposed  to  the  north  wind. 

July  17,  latitude  570  39',  longitude  580  54'  2",  course  made 
good,  north  820  43"  east,  distince  2,059;  distance  from  shore. from 
three  to  four  minutes. 

July  18  (1741)  at  half  after  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the 
officer  Dementief  was  sent  ashore.  The  gulf  into  which  he  steered 
was  according  to  observation  in  latitude  570  23',  longitude  from 
Avacha  590  36',  the  distance  2,059  (miles,  sixty  to  a  degree)  on  a 
course  north  82 °  28'  east.  But  the  corrected  latitude  of  this  gulf  is 
570  50'  and  the  longitude  580  54'.     On  the  homeward  passage  the 

535  The  Hydrographic  Office  of  the  United  States  Navy  has  rendered  as- 
sistance in  the  translation  of  these  two  documents,  xxv,  20,  C  and  D. 


324  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

Par  le  retour  la  difference  de  longitude  a  ete  trouvee  plus  grande 
de  n°  39'  4". 

ROUTE  DU  KAMTCHATKA  A  L'AMERIQUE  536 

(Suivant  un  premier  rapport  abrege  que  Ton  m'en  a  fait) 
Route  du  Kamtchatka  a  l'Amerique  le  Capitaine  Alexis  Tchirikov 
sur  le  vaissau  duquel  etoit  mon  frere  est  parti  le  4  Juin  1741  anc  st 
du  port  de  St  Pierre  et  St  Paul  autrement  appelle  le  port  d'Avacha 
situe  sur  la  cote  orientale  du  Kamchatka  sous  la  latitude  d'environ 
530  (il  est  sur  ma  carte  sous  la  longitude  depuis  de  1750  a  compter 
du  meridien  qui  passe  par  l'lsle  de  fer)  la  route  -  Ton  peut  voir  sur 
la  carte  cyjointe  — de  ce  port  jusqu'a  l'a  vue  d'un  port  de  l'Amerique 
situe  sous  la  latitude  de  570  50'  l'ou  on  a  expedie  dans  ce  port  le  18 
Juillet  1 741  un  maitre  de  flotte  avec  dix  hommes  dans  une  chaloupe 
mais  ils  ne  sont  pas  revenus.  Par  la  route  calculee  ce  nouveau  port  a 
ete  trouve  [illegible]  oriental  au  port  d'Avatcha  de  570  [illegible]  (et 
par  consequent  la  longitude  absolue  de  ce  nouveau  port  serait  d'environ 
2320)  Ton  a  aussi  calcule  que  le  Rhombe  en  ligne  droite  entre  le  2 
ports  susdits  declinoit  de  820  35'  du  nord  a  Test  dans  la  distance  de 
2007  miles  d'Angleterre  (un  min  d'un  grand  cercle  c'est  a  dire  33 ° 
27'  parceque  les  miles  anglois  sont  supposes  de  60  au  degre)  la  de- 
clinaison  de  l'aiguille  aimantee  a  ete  trouvee  dans  ce  port  de  l'Amer- 
ique du  nord  a  Test  d'un  rhombe  %  (I9°  41')-  dans  le  retour  Ton 
a  fait  bien  des  detours  pour  rechercher  si  Ton  ne  pourroit  point  revoir 
la  chaloupe  sus  dit  mais  inutillement;  aiant  calcule  tous  ces  detours 
pour  le  retour  jusqu'au  port  d'Avatcha  la  difference  de  longitude 
s'est  trouvee  de  n°  28'  plus  grande  que  pour  la  premiere  route. 

Dans  le  retour  on  a  decouvert  une  isle  sur  la  latitude  de  510  40' 
distance  par  le  calcul  en  ligne  droite  du  port  d'Avatcha  de  429/  min 
ou  miles  anglois  (70  9')  le  rombe  mene  d'Avatch  a  cette  Isle  de- 
clinant  du  sud  a  Test  de  790  39',  de  declinaison  de  l'aiguille  aimantee 
etoit  vers  cette  isle  d'un  Rhombe  (n°  15')  nord-est. 

dans  le  retour  mon  frere  est  tombe  malade  le  27  Sept.  1 741  et 
est  mort  le  10  Oct.  a  10  h.  du  matin. 


536  Delisle  Mss.,  no.  xxv,  20,  D. 


ROUTE  FROM  KAMCHATKA  TO  AMERICA     325 

accumulated  error  in  longitude  was  found  to  be  more  than  1 1  °  39' 
04". 

ROUTE  FROM  KAMCHATKA  TO  AMERICA 

(Based  on  a  first  brief  report  which  was  made  for  me) 
Route  from  Kamchatka  to  America.  Captain  Alexis  Chirikof 
with  my  brother  on  board  departed  June  4,  1741  [old  style]  from 
the  port  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  Peter,  also  known  as  the  port  of  Avacha, 
situated  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Kamchatka  in  latitude  about  fifty- 
three  degrees  (on  my  map  the  longitude  is  given  at  1750,  counting 
from  the  meridian  which  passes  through  the  island  of  Fer.  The 
course  —  this  one  may  follow  on  the  chart  here  attached  -  from  this 
port  to  the  American  port  which  was  observed  in  latitude  570  5c/. 
Into  this  port  were  sent  on  July  18,  1741,  an  officer  with  ten  men  in 
a  small  boat  but  they  did  not  come  back.  According  to  the  calculations 
of  the  course,  the  newly  found  port  is  east  of  Avatcha  57  [illegible] 
(and  therefore  the  absolute  longitude  of  this  new  port  would  be  about 
2320).  It  has  also  been  worked  out  that  the  rhumb  in  straight  line 
between  the  two  ports  mentioned  above  declines  from  820  35'  from 
the  north  to  the  east,  in  the  distance  of  2007  English  miles  (one 
minute  of  a  large  circle,  or  33 °  27',  because  the  English  miles  are 
sixty  to  a  degree).  The  declination  of  the  magnetic  needle  has  been 
found  in  this  American  port  from  the  north  to  the  east  of  a  rhumb 
yi  (190  41').  On  the  return  voyage  the  boat  sailed  here  and  there 
in  the  hopes  of  finding  a  trace  of  the  lost  small  boat  just  mentioned, 
but  all  in  vain.  Taking  into  calculation  all  these  side  voyages  until 
Avacha  was  reached,  there  was  found  to  be  a  difference  of  n°  28' 
longitude  between  the  going  and  coming. 

Returning  an  island  was  discovered  in  lat.  51  °  40';  calculated 
distance  from  Avacha  on  a  straight  line,  429  minutes  or  English 
miles  (70  09').  A  rhumb  line  from  Avacha  to  this  island  runs 
south  730  39'  East,  with  the  compass  needle  deflected  I  point  (ii° 
15')  to  eastward. 

On  the  return  voyage  my  brother  fell  ill,  September  27,  1 741,  and 
died  October  10  at  10  o'clock  in  the  morning. 


APPENDIX  H 

DECOUVERTE  DE  L'AMERIQUE  PAR  LA  MOSCOVIE  537 

Le  Capitaine  Behring  qui  etoit  alle  pour  tacher  de  decouvrir  si 
Ton  ne  pourroit  pas  se  rendre  en  Amerique  par  la  mer  du  Nord,  ayant 
echoue  contre  la  cote  d'une  isle  deserte,  et  son  vaisseau  s'etant  brise, 
ce  capitaine  est  mort  dans  cette  Isle  avec  la  plus  part  des  personnes 
qui  avoient  fait  le  voyage  avec  luy.  Le  Sr.  Stoller  adjoint  Botaniste 
de  l'academie  de  cette  ville,  lequel  avoit  accompagne  ce  Capitaine,  a 
ete  assees  heureux,  ainsi  que  quelques  matelots  de  l'equipage  pour 
resister  a  la  fatigue  et  a  la  misere,  ayant  fait  construire  par  ses  com- 
pagnons  un  nouveau  batiment  des  debris  du  premier,  il  est  arrive 
avec  eux  a  Kamtchatka,  apres  avoir  essuye  un  grand  nombre  de  dan- 
gers dans  sa  route.  II  a  rapporte  qu'il  avoit  recontre  le  Capitaine 
Tscherikov,  lequel  assuroit  qu'il  avoit  touche  la  cote  d'un  pais  in- 
connu  dont  les  habitans  resembloient  aux  sauvages  de  l'Amerique. 
Mais  quelorsqu'il  avoit  voulu  mettre  pied  a  terre,  il  avoit  ete  re- 
pousse par  les  habitans,  et  qu'apres  avoir  perdu  plusieurs  soldats  et 
quelque  Matelots,  il  avoit  ete  oblige  de  renoncer  a  son  entreprise. 

Mr  George  Guillaume  Steller  de  Windsheim  en  franconie  fameux 
Botaniste  et  Professeur  de  l'Academie  Imperiale  est  mort  depuis  peu 
entre  Tobolskoi  et  Cathrinesbourg.  Ce  savant  est  Generalement 
Regrette.  II  revenoit  de  Kamtschatka  apres  y  avoir  Decouvert  une 
des  Isles  de  l'Amerique  Septentrionale  et  Demontre  qu'on  pouvoit  y 
aller  de  Terres  de  l'Empire  de  Russie  par  un  petit  Trajet.  II  entre- 
prit  cette  decouverte  en  1738  par  ordre  de  la  cour  avec  un  vaisseau 
que  commandoit  le  Capitaine  Behring.  lis  eurent  le  malheur 
d'echouer  sur  une  Isle  inconnue  ou  le  Plus  grand  nombre  de  ses  com- 
pagnons  de  Voiage  et  meme  Le  Capitaine  Du  Vaisseau  perirent  de 
Misere  et  de  Chagrin.     Quant  a  Mr  Stoller  il  eut  l'adresse  avec  le 

537  Delisle  Mss.,  no.  xxv,  19,  E. 

Gazette  de  France,  no.  47,  545  [?],  du  16  Nov.,  1743.  De  Petersbourg  le  20 
Octob.,  1743.-  Orig. 


APPENDIX  H 

DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA  BY  WAY  OF  MOSCOVY 

Captain  Behring  who  went  to  discover  whether  one  could  go  to 
America  by  way  of  the  North  Pacific,  wrecked  and  lost  his  boat  on 
the  coast  of  a  desert  island  on  which  he  and  the  greater  part  of  his 
crew  that  accompanied  him  died.  With  the  captain  was  Mr.  Steller, 
botanist  of  the  Academy  of  that  city,  and  he  as  well  as  a  number  of 
the  sailors,  being  fortunate  enough  to  survive  the  hardships  and  suf- 
ferings, built  from  the  wreck  of  the  first  boat  a  smaller  one  and  on  it 
they  arrived  at  Kamchatka,  after  having  experienced  many  dangers 
on  the  way.  He  reports  that  he  met  Captain  Chirkof  who  assured 
him  that  he  had  been  on  the  coast  of  some  unknown  country,  the  in- 
habitants of  which  resemble  the  savages  of  America.  But  when  he 
attempted  to  land  he  was  driven  back  by  them,  and  after  losing  sev- 
eral soldiers  and  sailors  he  was  compelled  to  give  up  the  attempt. 

Mr.  George  William  Steller  of  Windsheim,  Franconia,  famous 
botanist  and  Professor  of  the  Imperial  Academy,  died  recently  be- 
tween Tobolsk  and  Catherinesburg.  The  loss  of  this  scholar  is  gen- 
erally regretted.  He  was  on  his  way  from  Kamchatka  after  hav- 
ing discovered  one  of  the  islands  of  North  America  and  proved  that 
it  was  only  a  short  distance  thither  from  the  Russian  Empire.  He 
undertook  this  voyage  of  discovery  by  the  order  of  the  court,  with 
Captain  Behring  in  command  of  the  ship.  They  had  the  misfortune 
to  be  wrecked  on  an  unknown  island  where  the  Captain  and  a  large 
number  of  those  who  were  on  board  died  of  misery  and  grief.    Steller, 


328  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

secours  de  sept  personnes  qui  etoient  demeurees  en  vie  de  faire  une 
Chaloupe  des  debris  du  Vaisseau  et  il  revint  hereusement  a  Kamts- 
chatka.  Comme  il  avoit  Etudie  en  Theologie,  il  fit  pendant  cette 
course  L'office  D'Aumonier  et  son  Zele  porta  a  engager  Le  Synode 
Russien  a  Etablir  pour  ces  provinces  une  Mission  de  Propoganda 
fide.  On  a  trouve  parmi  ses  Papiers  Plusieurs  Relations  tres  Inter- 
resantes  qui  ont  ete  envoyees  a  l'Acaderaie  Conformement  aux  Disposi- 
tions du  Defunt  et  Ton  croit  qu'elles  seront  dans  peu  rendues  Pub- 
liques. 

La  Stora  Sibirica  du  celebre  Gmelin  qui  par  ordre  de  l'lm- 
peratrice  Anne  a  parcouru  la  Siberie,  Province  si  vaste  et  si  peu 
connue,  pendant  Le  cours  de  sept  annees  est  sous  presse.  On  a  lieu 
de  se  promettre  une  foule  de  decouvertes  nouvelles,  et  importantes 
apres  les  soins  Infatigables  de  cet  habile  Botaniste. 

L'imprimerie  De  L'academie  vient  de  publier  un  Atlas  de  Russie 
qui  consiste  en  dix  neuf  cartes  particulieres  de  toutes  ces  provinces  de 
ce  vaste  Empire  avec  las  Pais  Limitrophes  et  une  Carte  generate  ou  on 
les  trouves  rassemblees.  Elles  ont  ete  dressees  Conformement  aux 
Derniers    Observations.538 

On  a  recu  avis  que  Mr.  Stoller  fameux  Botaniste  et  Membre  de 
l'Academie  des  Sciences  est  mort  depuis  entre  Tobolski  et  Caterines- 
burg.  La  perte  de  ce  scavans  est  generalment  regrettee,  il  revennoit 
de  Kamchatka  apres  y  avoir  decouver  une  des  Isles  del'Amerique 
Septentrionale,  et  demontre  qu'on  peut  y  aller  des  Terres  del'Empire 
de  Russie  par  un  petit  trajet.539 


538  Delisle  Mss.,  no.  xxv,   19,  F.  Copie  de  la  nouvelle  Bibliotheque  Ger- 
manique,  Tome  iii,  part  i,  199. 

539  Delisle  Mss.,  no.  xxv,  19,  G.  Extract  de  la  Gazette  a" Amsterdam  du 
25  Jan.,  1747. 


DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA  329 

with  the  help  of  seven  others  who  survived,  made  a  small  boat  from 
the  remains  of  the  wreck  of  the  ship  and  returned  to  Kamchatka. 
As  he  was  a  student  of  theology  he  acted  as  chaplain  on  the  voyage 
and  he  was  instrumental  in  persuading  the  Russian  Synod  to  estab- 
lish for  these  provinces  a  mission  for  the  spreading  of  the  faith. 
Among  his  papers  there  are  a  number  of  very  valuable  reports  which, 
at  the  request  of  the  deceased,  were  forwarded  to  the  Academy,  and 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  these  documents  will  soon  be  made 
public.  The  Stora  Sibirica  by  the  celebrated  Gmelin,  who  at  the 
order  of  the  Empress  Anne  spent  seven  years  in  Siberia,  a  vast  and 
unknown  country,  is  now  in  press.  One  may  hope  for  a  number  of 
important  discoveries  considering  the  ability  and  scholarship  of  this 
botanist.  The  press  of  the  Academy  has  just  published  an  atlas  of 
Russia  which  has  nineteen  special  maps  of  all  the  provinces  of  the 
empire  and  neighboring  countries  and  one  general  map  which  in- 
cludes them  all.     They  are  based  on  the  latest  observations. 

Word  has  just  been  received  that  Mr.  Steller,  famous  botanist 
and  member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  died  recently  between 
Tobolsk  and  Catherinesburg.  The  loss  of  this  scholar  is  generally 
regretted.  He  was  coming  from  Kamchatka  after  having  discovered 
one  of  the  islands  of  North  America  and  proved  that  it  is  only  a 
short  distance  from  there  to  the  Russian  Empire. 


APPENDIX  I 

MEMOIRES   SUR   LA   ROUTE   DU   CAPITAINE   SPAN- 
BERG  DU  KAMCHATKA  AU  JAPON   EN  JUIN, 
JUILLET,  ET  AOUST,  1739 

Decouverte  de  34  Isles  dans  la  mer  du  Nord5*0 

Le  bruit  court  que  le  Capitaine  Spanberg,  en  navigeant  dans  la 
Mer  du  Nord,  a  decouvert  trente  quatre  isles  tant  grandes  que  petites, 
dont  les  habitans  aussitot  qu'ils  Font  appercu,  l'ont  envoye  recon- 
noitre par  six  chaloupes:  qu'ayant  aborde  a  une  de  ces  Isles,  il  est 
descendu  a  terre  sans  trouver  la  moindre  opposition,  et  que  les  In- 
sulaires,  quoyque  fort  surpris  l'ont  recu  avec  plusieurs  demonstrations 
d'amitie;  que  ces  peuples  resemblent  fort  a  ceux  du  Japon,  et  qu'ils 
lui  ont  montre  une  grande  quantite  de  monnoye  d'or  et  de  cuivre. 
On  dit  que  le  Capitaine  Spanberg  a  donne  avis  de  sa  decouverte  a  la 
Czarine  et  yu'il  lui  a  envoye  quelques  unes  des  monnoyes  dont  ces 
peuples  se  servenr.540a 

A  Amsterdam  on  vend  une  Nouvelle  Mapemonde  en  deux  grandes 
feuilles  contenant  les  poles  Artique  et  Antartique. 

On  trouve  dans  le  pole  Artique  a  l'Extremite  de  la  Tartarie  le 
pays  de  Camschatka  qui  s'etend  quarante  degrez  plus  a  l'orient  qu'on 
ne  la  scu  jusqu'icy  d'ou  le  Capitaine  Spanberg  a  fait  dans  l'Espace  de 
seize  jours  un  voyage  a  de  nouvelles  Isles,  qu'on  croit  apartenir  au 
Japon  selon  la  Relation  que  Mr.  Swartz  resident  d'Hollande  a 
Petersbourg  en  a  envoyees  aux  Etats  Generaux  dans  ses  lettres  du 
vingt-quatre  Janvier  1740.541 

Le  courier  parti  d'Yakutsk  le  6  Septembre  1739  a  emploie  juste- 
ment  4  mois  a  venir  a  Petersbourg  y  etant  arrive  le  6  Janvier  1740. 

540  Delisle  Mss.,  no.  xxv,  18,  B.  1740. 

540a  No  g  Gazette  de  France  du  27  Fevrier,  1740.  Article  de  St.  Peters- 
bourg du  16  Janv.  de  la  meme  annee. 

541  Delisle  Mss.,  no.  xxv,  18,  C.  1740. 


APPENDIX  I 

DOCUMENTS   BEARING  ON   THE  VOYAGE   OF  CAP- 
TAIN SPANBERG  FROM  KAMCHATKA  TO  JAPAN 
IN  JUNE,  JULY,  AND  AUGUST,  1739 

Discovery  of  thirty-four  islands  in  the  North  Pacific 

Ocean 

There  is  a  report  about  that  Captain  Spanberg  while  navigating 
in  the  North  Pacific  has  discovered  thirty-four  islands,  large  and 
small,  the  inhabitants  of  which  as  soon  as  they  saw  him  sent  six  small 
boats  to  meet  him.  Although  surprised,  the  natives  received  Cap- 
tain Spanberg,  when  he  landed  on  one  of  these  islands,  without  op- 
position and  with  friendship.  These  islanders  resemble  the  Japanese 
very  much.  They  possess  large  quantities  of  gold  and  copper  money. 
It  is  said  that  Captain  Spanberg  has  notified  the  empress  of  his  dis- 
covery and  has  sent  her  several  pieces  of  money  used  on  the  island. 

At  Amsterdam  there  is  being  sold  a  world  map  in  two  sheets  con- 
taining the  Arctic  and  Antarctic  poles. 

On  the  Arctic  pole  one  sees  on  the  confines  of  Tartary  the  terri- 
tory of  Kamchatka  which  extends  forty  degrees  farther  east  than  it 
was  known  until  now  and  where  Captain  Spanberg  has  made  in  the 
period  of  sixteen  days  a  voyage  to  some  new  islands  which  are  gen- 
erally believed  to  belong  to  Japan.  All  this  information  comes 
through  Mr.  Swartz,  a  representative  of  Holland  at  Petersburg,  who 
sent  it  to  the  States  General  in  his  letters  of  January  24,  1740. 

The  courier  who  left  Jakutsk  September  6,  1739,  was  just  four 
months  in  coming  to  St.  Petersburg,  arriving  January  6,  1 740.     He 


332  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

II  a  apporte  a  l'admiral  Golovin  une  relation  en  6  feuflles  de  l'expedi- 
tion  du  Capitaine  Spanberg,  dont  j'ay  appris  les  particularites  sui- 
vantes,  a  scavoir  que  ce  capitaine  s'est  mis  en  mer  au  mois  de  Juin, 
Juillet,  et  Aoust  1739  pour  la  recherche  de  la  route  du  Camchat  au 
Japon;  qu'il  est  parti  du  Camchat  sous  la  latitude  de  56  (c'est  ap- 
parement  l'embouchure  de  Camtchatka  que  le  Capitaine  Beerings 
dans  son  premier  voyage  mit  a  56  3)  que  de  la  il  est  alle  vers  le  Sud 
par  un  bon  vent  par  lequel  il  a  pu  faire  en  16  jours  la  traversee  du 
20  degrez  en  latitude  jusqu'a  la  latitude  36  environ  (l'amiral  Golovin 
m'a  dit  37)  qu'il  avoit  dans  cette  tranversee  recontre  plusieurs  isles 
dans  quelquesunes  desquelles  il  etoit  descendu  etc.,  qu'il  avoit  aborde 
aussi  au  Japon  (apparement  a  la  cote  orientale)  ou  il  avoit  ete  bien 
recu  et  entame  [  ?]  le  commerce,  etc. 

Mr.  l'Amiral  Golovin  me  n'a  pas  dit  positivement  la  route  que 
Mr  Spanberg  avoit  tenu  vers  Test  ou  vers  l'ouest;  mais  il  m'a  dit 
qu'il  avoit  bien  observe  cette  route  en  marquant  les  latitudes,  la  dec- 
linaison  de  l'aiguille  aimantee,  etc.  au  reste  qu'il  devoit  bientot  venir 
lui  mesme  apporter  une  relation  plus  ample  de  cette  decouverte  avec 
la  carte  de  sa  route,  etc.542 


542  Delisle  Mss.,  no.  xxv,  18,  F. 


VOYAGE  OF  CAPTAIN  SPANBERG  333 

brought  to  Admiral  Golovin  a  report  in  six  sheets  of  the  expedition 
of  Captain  Spanberg  of  which  I  have  learned  the  following  particu- 
lars. Captain  Spanberg  was  out  at  sea  during  June,  July,  and  Aug- 
ust, 1739,  trying  to  find  a  route  from  Kamchatka  to  Japan.  He  left 
Kamchatka  in  latitude  fifty-six  degrees  (this  is  probably  the  mouth 
of  the  Kamchatka  which  Captain  Bering  on  his  first  voyage  charted 
as  fifty-six  degrees,  three  minutes)  and  from  there  he  sailed  south 
with  a  good  wind  so  that  in  sixteen  days  he  passed  over  twenty  de- 
grees of  latitude  to  about  latitude  thirty-six  degrees  (Admiral  Golo- 
vin said  thirty-seven),  and  that  in  the  course  of  his  navigation  he 
came  across  many  islands  on  several  of  which  he  made  a  landing,  etc., 
and  that  he  made  a  landing  in  Japan  (probably  on  the  eastern  side) 
where  he  was  well  received  and  began  commercial  relations,  etc. 

Admiral  Golovin  did  not  tell  me  positively  what  course  Captain 
Spanberg  sailed  towards  the  east  or  west,  but  he  said  that  the  course 
was  carefully  charted  with  the  latitudes  and  declinations  of  the 
needle,  etc.  He  also  said  that  Captain  Spanberg  would  soon  appear 
in  person  with  a  full  account  and  chart  of  his  course,  etc. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE 

A  CRITICAL  EXAMINATION  OF  AUTHORITIES 

Bibliographies:  Mejow's  Bibliographia  Sibirica  (1891-1892) 
is  the  only  satisfactory  work  covering  Siberia,  Alaska,  and  the  Amur. 
It  is  complete,  reliable,  but  not  critical.  Cordier's  Blbliotheca  Sinica 
is  valuable  for  Russo-Chinese  relations.  The  general  list  of  books 
given  in  Bancroft's  History  of  Alaska  is  confusing,  having  many 
titles  which  do  not  relate  to  the  subject,  but  scattered  among  the  foot- 
notes are  many  bibliographical  helps.  Dall's  bibliography  is  too 
general  to  be  of  great  service.  There  are  other  bibliographies  of 
minor  importance  but  these  have  all  been  superseded  by  Mejow's. 

Unpublished  Sources:  there  is  a  great  deal  of  unpublished 
source  material  for  this  period  in  the  Russian  archives.  In  the 
Archive  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Marine  at  St.  Petersburg  there  are 
classified  under  the  heading  "Captain-commander  Bering"  one  hun- 
dred eleven  bundles  of  documents,  some  of  which  contain  between 
two  and  three  thousand  pages.  In  addition  there  are  many  other 
papers  in  the  archives  relating  to  this  subject  catalogued  under  dif- 
ferent heads,  such  as  Admiralty  College,  Count  Apraxin,  and  under 
various  other  names.  These  are  by  no  means  all  the  documents. 
The  Hydrographic  Department  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Marine,  the 
Academy  of  Sciences,  the  Archives  of  the  State,  the  Ministry  of  War, 
and  most  of  the  other  archives,  both  at  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow 
have  manuscript  material  on  this  field.  More  recently  (1914)  a  re- 
port based  on  good  authority  has  reached  the  Russian  capital  to  the 
effect  that  at  Okhotsk  there  are  still  many  papers  relating  to  the 
Kamchatka  Expeditions.  It  is  difficult  to  say  with  any  degree  of 
certainty  as  to  how  much  material  there  really  is  and  where  it  is 
because  no  attempt  has  ever  been  made  to  determine  these  points. 

This  vast  amount  of  material  is,  however,  out  of  proportion  to  its 
importance.  Many  of  the  one  hundred  eleven  bundles  associated 
with  the  name  of  Bering  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  him,  his 
work,  or  his  period,  but  deal  nearly  altogether  with  purely  Siberian 


336  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

affairs  of  a  much  later  time.  Of  the  remaining  bundles  which  do 
concern  the  Kamchatka  Expeditions,  much  of  the  material  they  con- 
tain is  worthless  because  of  duplication.  Each  affair  went  through 
the  hands  of  several  administrative  and  legislative  bodies  and  bureaus, 
each  made  copies  and  comments  and  by  the  time  that  a  decision  was 
reached  the  number  of  papers  that  had  accumulated  made  one  or 
more  bundles,  the  great  number  of  the  documents  being  merely  repeti- 
tions of  the  same  subject.  To  give  a  concrete  illustration :  the  trouble 
between  Spanberg  and  one  of  his  lieutenants  fill  many  bundles  with 
documents,  the  same  charge  (a  very  petty  one)  being  repeated  again 
and  again.  The  petition  of  Bering's  family,  after  his  death,  that  the 
pay  due  him  should  be  handed  over  to  them  makes  two  or  more 
bundles  of  affidavits,  copies  of  certificates,  comments  of  various  bu- 
reaus et  cetera.     Good  and  worthless  material  is  all  tied  together. 

Although  so  rich  in  good  documents  the  Archives  of  the  Ministry 
of  the  Marine  does  not  possess  the  journal  of  the  voyage  made  by 
Bering  to  America  in  1741.  Where  that  journal  is  no  one  knows. 
The  same  ignorance  prevails  relative  to  a  number  of  the  earlier  maps. 
Some  of  these  and  other  documents  have  been  missing  a  long  time. 
When  the  papers  of  the  Second  Kamchatka  Expedition  reached  the 
capital  they  were  handed  over  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences  where  they 
remained  from  1750  to  1758.  At  the  end  of  that  time  they  were 
returned  to  the  Admiralty  College.  It  was  noised  about  at  the  time 
that  a  number  of  the  papers  had  disappeared  in  the  interval.  This 
may  or  may  not  have  been  true.  Documents  have  disappeared  from 
the  archives  in  other  ways.  In  one  well  known  case  (of  a  much  later 
period)  the  Minister  of  the  Marine  was  in  the  habit  of  taking  the  more 
important  documents  home  with  him;  when  he  died  his  heirs  sold  the 
papers  to  an  antiquarian  who  sold  them  back  to  the  same  ministry 
from  which  they  had  originally  come.  The  Academy  of  Sciences 
has  a  copy  of  the  missing  Bering  journal.  This  copy  was  made  by 
Chytref,  the  same  man  who  kept  the  original  on  board  the  St.  Peter. 
This  document  has  been  made  use  of  by  the  writer  and  is  here  re- 
ferred to  as  the  Journal  of  the  St.  Peter.  Another  copy  of  this  jour- 
nal by  the  same  man  finds  a  home,  together  with  other  valuable  papers 
on  the  Bering  Voyage,  in  the  Archives  of  the  State. 

Chirikof's  journal  and  his  reports,  Waxel's  report,  the  journals 
and  papers  of  Spanberg,  and  of  the  officers  who  explored  in  the  Arctic 
are  all  housed  in  fireproof  vaults  in  the  Archives  of  the  Ministry  of 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE  337 

the  Marine.  The  so-called  Muller  Portfolio,  documents  collected  in 
Siberia  by  the  scholar  whose  name  it  bears,  is  now  in  the  archives  at 
Moscow. 

The  difficult}'  of  reading  the  Russian  manuscripts  of  the  eighteenth 
century  has  been  exaggerated.  Those  who  have  a  reading  knowledge 
of  modern  Russian  can  with  a  little  practice  and  perseverance  learn 
to  read  the  documents  of  the  time  of  Peter  and  Catherine. 

At  Paris  there  is  a  collection  of  valuable  papers  as  yet  unpublished. 
While  studying  in  that  city  Professor  Gaulois  called  the  writer's  at- 
tention to  the  Delisle  manuscripts  in  the  Archives  de  la  Marine. 
These  are  letters,  copies  of  journals,  charts,  reports  of  conversation, 
newspaper  clippings  and  other  such  material  collected  by  the  members 
of  the  Delisle  family  —  all  of  which  throw  interesting  side-lights  on 
the  period  and  the  men.  The  papers  which  are  of  special  importance 
for  this  study  are  those  gathered  by  Joseph-Nicholas  Delisle  during 
his  twenty-one  years'  (1726-1747)  residence  at  the  Russian  capital  as 
an  officer  of  the  Academy.  In  the  "Appendix"  may  be  found  many 
of  the  documents  which  relate  to  the  subject  treated  in  this  book. 
So  far  as  it  is  known  to  the  writer  these  papers  have  never  before 
been  used. 

Published  sources  :  many  important  documents  have  been  brought 
to  light  in  the  publications  of  the  Archaeographical  Society,  especially 
the  Muller  Portfolio,  in  those  of  the  Departments  of  War,  Marine, 
Hydrography,  and  Justice,  in  periodicals  and  books  privately  printed. 
The  Akti  Istoricheskie,  five  volumes,  and  the  Dopolnenis  K  Aktam 
Istoricheskim,  twelve  volumes,  are  the  principal  sources  for  the  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  century  Siberia.  For  the  two  first  decades 
of  the  eighteenth  century  the  printed  material  is  found  chiefly  in  the 
Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii,  two  volumes,  and  in  the  government 
publications  noted  above.  The  Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi 
Imperii  covers  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  and  contains 
instructions  to  officers  in  Siberia  and  treaties  with  China.  The 
Jesuit  letters  are  very  helpful.  Bering's  brief  report  to  the  empress 
on  his  first  voyage  is  printed  without  comment  in  Zapiski  Woenno- 
Topograficheskavo  Depo  (part  x).  Dall's  attempt  to  translate  this 
into  English  was  not  successful.  Berch  in  his  Pervoe  Morskoe 
Puteshestvie  Rossiyan  prints  a  log  book  of  the  first  voyage  which  was 
kept  by  Midshipman  Peter  Chaplin.  V.  Bachtin  in  Russkie  Tru- 
zheniki  Morja  printed  additional  documents  on  this  voyage.     Gwos- 


338  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

def's  report  and  other  material  bearing  on  the  discovery  of  the  Amer- 
ican coast  in  1732  may  be  found  in  the  Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo 
Departamenta.  Steller's  Reise  von  Kamchatka  nach  America  is  the 
only  original  document  of  importance  dealing  with  the  second  sea 
voyage  which  has  up  to  this  time  appeared  in  print.  Muller,  Gmelin, 
Krasheninnikof  were  members  of  Bering's  second  expedition,  although 
they  did  not  go  to  sea  with  him.  Their  writings  may  be  classed 
partly  as  original  and  partly  as  contemporary  documents,  depending 
altogether  on  the  topics  which  they  discuss. 

About  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  a  friendly  controversy 
arose  between  Karl  E.  von  Baer,  a  German  scholar  residing  at  St. 
Petersburg,  and  Lieutenant  Sokolof  of  the  Russian  Navy.  In  1848 
and  1849  Baer  wrote  a  series  of  articles  on  Peter  the  Great's  contri- 
bution to  the  advancement  of  geographical  knowledge.  These  papers 
were  translated  into  Russian  and  published  in  the  Proceedings 
{Zapiski)  of  the  Geographical  Society  in  1849  and  1850.  As  soon 
as  they  appeared  Sokolof  replied  to  them,  heading  his  papers,  "Bering 
and  Chirikof."  His  contention  was  that  Chirikof  did  not  receive 
all  the  credit  he  merited  for  the  part  he  took  in  the  Bering  expedi- 
tions. Baer  took  notice  of  the  attack  and  defended  his  position  in  the 
St.  Petersburger  Zeitung  (numbers  114,  115,  116).  The  contro- 
versy had  this  good  in  it,  that  it  stimulated  a  study  of  the  original 
documents,  and  the  results  of  these  researches  appeared  in  the  Zapiski 
Hydrograficheskavo  Departamenta  and  they  brought  out  many  points 
unknown  before.  In  1872  Baer,  then  an  old  man  of  eighty  years, 
completed  his  monograph  and  summarized  the  points  of  the  contro- 
versy in  an  admirable  way.  Towards  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury Lauridsen,  a  Dane,  took  up  the  cudgels  in  behalf  of  Bering, 
without,  however,  contributing  anything  of  value. 

The  documents  of  the  eighteenth  century,  being  numerous  and 
varied,  check  each  other  to  a  satisfactory  degree.  For  the  seventeenth 
century  there  is  less  material  and  that  is  chiefly  of  a  one-sided  char- 
acter: the  case  of  the  Chinese,  the  native  of  Siberia,  and  of  the 
Amur  is  seldom  directly  presented.  Many  of  the  documents  are 
complaints  and  petitions  and,  as  one  might  suppose,  the  writers  ex- 
aggerated their  injuries  and  their  merits.  There  is  another  kind  of 
a  document  in  the  form  of  orders  and  reports  to  and  from  Moscow 
to  the  woewods  and  from  these  officers  to  their  subordinates.  These 
papers  give  the  plans  of  those  in  authority,  but  these  plans  miscarried 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE  339 

so  often  that  one  must  be  careful  not  to  accept  the  will  for  the  deed. 
Being  ignorant,  superstitious,  and  at  times  morbid,  the  officers  made 
much  out  of  every  rumor,  and  they  often  reported  thousands  of  the 
enemy  where  there  were  hundreds.  One  can,  however,  by  following 
up  the  instructions,  reports,  complaints,  and  lawsuits  during  a  long 
period  of  time  obtain  a  fairly  accurate  idea  of  the  true  state  of  affairs. 
Secondary  materials:  This  class  of  literature  is  not  altogether 
satisfactory.  It  is  almost  two  hundred  years  since  Bering  received 
his  commission  to  undertake  his  first  voyage  and  during  that  long 
period  only  six  men  have  been  sufficiently  interested  in  the  subject 
to  give  it  careful  consideration,  either  in  whole  or  in  part.  These 
men  are  Muller,  Coxe,  Sokolof,  Baer,  Bancroft,  and  Lauridsen. 
One  of  these  is  a  Russian  and  the  two  Germans  were  in  the  service 
of  Russia  at  the  time  of  their  writing.  The  best  book  on  the  early 
Russo-Chinese  relations  was  written  by  an  Englishman  — Ravenstein. 
Russian  scholars  have  not  done  all  that  the  world  has  a  right  to 
expect  from  them.  The  most  important  book  on  this  field  is,  after 
all,  volume  three  of  Muller's  Sammlung  Russischer  Geschichte,  pub- 
lished in  1758.  Soon  after  its  appearance  this  work  was  translated 
into  Russian,  English,  and  French.  Although  since  that  time  much 
paper  and  ink  have  been  used  up  in  telling  this  story,  yet  very  little 
that  is  new  has  been  added  to  our  knowledge  of  the  subject.  Both 
Russian  and  non-Russian  scholars  have  preferred  to  follow  Muller's 
version  than  to  consult  the  originals.  Muller's  work,  although  very 
valuable,  should  not  be  used  as  a  source  but  along  with  the  sources. 
Muller  was  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  the  picturesque  and  heroic 
and,  by  a  skillful  use  of  his  material,  succeeded  in  producing  a  very 
readable  story  but  in  giving  a  rather  erroneous  point  of  view.  Wheth- 
er from  conviction,  temperament,  or  because  it  was  good  policy  for  a 
German  to  pursue  in  the  Russian  capital,  Muller  exerted  all  his 
energy,  lavished  all  his  talent  in  clothing  the  Cossack  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  Siberia  in  heroic  garments.  This  is  especially  true 
when  the  Russian  is  contrasted  with  his  enemy:  whatever  the  former 
does  is  brave  and  patriotic  while  the  deeds  of  the  latter  are  cowardly 
and  treasonable.  The  part  of  his  book  dealing  with  the  Bering 
voyages  has  defects  of  another  sort.  Muller  was  too  much  a  part 
of  the  period  to  see  it  in  its  true  proportions.  His  judgment  of  the 
men  of  his  time  is  not  critical,  their  deeds  he  usually  values  higher 
than  they  are  worth.  His  lenient  attitude  may  be  partly  explained 
by  the  fact  that  many  of  the  men  of  whom  he  was  writing,  or  their 


34Q  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

friends,  were  yet  alive,  and  it  was  wise  not  to  say  anything  which 
might  offend. 

Coxe's  An  Account  of  the  Russian  Discoveries  is  an  important 
book.  The  author  lived  in  Russia  during  the  second  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  the  time  when  Europe  was  greatly  interested  in 
voyages  of  discovery.  Coxe  follows  Muller  very  closely  in  his  ac- 
count of  the  Russian  voyages  up  to  and  including  the  Bering  period. 
That  part  of  his  work  which  deals  with  the  Russian  activities  after 
Bering's  time  is  much  better,  since  the  writer  makes  use  of  the  docu- 
ments and  of  information  obtained  at  first  hand. 

Peter's  des  Grossen  Verdienste  um  die  Erweiterung  der  Geogra- 
phischen  Kenntnisse  by  Karl  E.  von  Baer,  gives  an  excellent  summary 
of  the  Bering  voyages.  It  is  scholarly,  readable  and  fair  in  its  judg- 
ments. Lauridsen's  Vitus  Bering  is  based  almost  entirely  on  Baer's 
work  and  therein  lies  its  chief  merit.  There  is  not  enough  evidence 
to  prove  that  Lauridsen  has  done  much  original  investigation.  Ban- 
croft's Alaska  is  of  much  value  and  may  be  used  with  profit  in  con- 
nection with  the  sources.  Dall's  Critical  Review  of  Bering's  First 
Expedition  contains  a  learned  discussion  of  the  nautical  and  astro- 
nomical instruments  of  the  early  eighteenth  century.  A  very  scholarly 
monograph  which  just  touches  the  edges  of  this  field  is  Butsinski's 
Zaselenie  Sibiri.  There  are  many  helpful  papers  in  the  Morskoi 
Sbornik.  The  Library  of  Congress  has  an  incomplete  set  of  this 
publication  and  the  United  States  Navy  Department  has  a  number 
of  odd  volumes  which  it  keeps  in  its  dusty  garret  where  they  are 
deteriorating.  If  the  two  collections  were  combined  it  would  be 
possible  to  have  one  complete  set.  Fischer's  Sibirische  Geschichte, 
Slovtsof's  Istoricheskie  Obozrenie  Sibiri,  and  Pallas'  Neue  Nordische 
Beytrage  have  much  important  material.  The  journals  of  Cook, 
Laperouse,  Kruzenstern,  and  other  navigators  in  the  North  Pacific 
Ocean  help  in  understanding  the  difficulties  and  problems  which  con- 
fronted the  Russian  sailors  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen- 
turies. 

In  conclusion  it  should  be  said  that  so  far  as  printed  material  on 
this  field  is  concerned  the  Library  of  Congress  with  its  recently  ac- 
quired Yudin  Collection  is  probably  better  equipped  for  the  study  of 
this  subject  than  any  other  library.  Certain  Russian  scholars  do  not 
even  except  the  Imperial  Public  Library  at  St.  Petersburg.  Harvard 
and  Yale  also  have  good  working  libraries. 


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1842),  5  vols. 

Andrievich,  V.  K.  Istoria  Sibiri  [History  of  Siberia],  (St.  Peters- 
burg,  1882). 

Bachtin,  V.  Russkie  Truzheniki  Morja.  Pervaja  Morskaja  Eks- 
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pedition, etc.],   (St.  Petersburg,   1890). 

Baer,  K.  E.  von.  Peter's  Des  Grossen  Verdienste  um  Die  Er- 
weiterung  der  Geographischen  Kenntnisse  (St.  Petersburg,  1872). 

Bancroft,  H.  H.     History  of  Alaska  (San  Francisco,  1886). 

Barsukof,  I.  Count  Nikolai  N.  Muraveef-Amurski  (Moscow, 
1891). 

Berch,  V.  Pervoe  Morskoe  Puteshestvie  Rossiyana  [First  Russian 
Sea  Voyages],    (St.  Petersburg,  1821). 

Bibliograph,  1 89 1,  Doc.  3-4,  60-62  (St.  Petersburg,  1892). 

Billings,  Joseph.     Voyage  (London,  1802),  ed.  by  Martin  Sauer. 

Broughton,  W.  R.  Voyage  of  Discovery  in  the  North  Pacific 
Ocean    (London,   1804). 

Buache,    P.     Considerations    Geographiques   et    Physiques    (Paris, 

1753). 
Burney,  J.  A.     Chronological  History  of  the  North-eastern  Voyages 
of  Discovery  and  of  the  Early  Navigations  of  the  Russians  (Lon- 
don,  1819). 

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(London,    1818). 

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(London,  1803). 
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kof,   1889). 
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1888,  1891,  1894). 
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Copy    in    the    Academy    of    Sciences,    32:16:19.     Another    copy    in    the 

Archives  of  State,  xxiv,   no.   9. 
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and  Strait  (Washington,  1891). 

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du  Nord  de  la  Mer  du  Sud  (Paris,  1752). 

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1 732-1 764),  9  vols. 

Volume  3,  published  1758,  deals  with  Siberia  and  the  Bering  voyages. 

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This  is  a  translation  by  Thomas  Jeffreys  of   a  part  of  Muller's  third 
volume.     A  second  edition  of  the  work  appeared  in  London  in  1764. 

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344  RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 

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vols. 

Parker,  E.  H.  China,  her  History,  Diplomacy,  and  Commerce 
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China  and  Russia:  in  Imperial  and  Asiatic  Quarterly  Review, 

third  ser.,  vol.  ii,  July,   1896. 

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Ravenstein,  E.  G.     Russians  on  the  Amoor  (London,  1861). 

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BIBLIOGRAPHY  345 


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INDEX 


Abishtof,  — :  leader  of  expedition, 
108 

Achani  (native  tribe)  :  Khabarof  de- 
cides  to   winter    among,   47 

Aihun  (Siberia)  :  Chinese  army  quar- 
tered at,  59,  footnote,  60;  Chinese 
concentrate  in,  61 

Ainos   (natives  of  Jeso)  :  121,  224 

Aklanska  Ostrog:  103,  footnote,  106, 
107 

Akti  Istoricheskie:  cited,  336,  340, 
also  in  footnotes,  26,  34,  39,  44,  55 

Alasea   River:    87 

Alaska:  26,  131;  author's  interest  in, 
13;  place  in  history,  13;  only  satis- 
factory work  covering,  334;  see 
also  Jeso.  Cities  —  Kodiak,  14;  Sit- 
ka,   14;    Unalaska,    14 

Albasin  (Siberia):  57,  footnote;  Kha- 
barof meets  Dauri,  43 ;  Russians 
take,  43;  importance,  64;  outlaws 
settled  in,  55;  inhabitants  requested 
not  to  harm  natives,  56;  China  re- 
quests inhabitants  to  withdraw,  57 ; 
Russian  force  in,  59,  footnote,  61, 
62;  attacked  by  Chinese,  58-59,  61- 
63;  destroyed,  60;  to  be  destroyed, 
64;  fort  needed,  65 

Aldan  River:  34,  38,  137,  174;  ex- 
ploration,   35;    navigation    difficult, 

37 

Aleutian  Islands:  187 

Aleuts:   82,   footnote 

Alexeef,  Fedot:  94,  footnote,  271;  on 
Koluima,  72-73 ;  accompanies  ex- 
pedition, 269 ;  leader  on  explora- 
tions, 269;  fate,  76,  81,  84,  281,  287 

Alexeef,  Luka:  215 


Allard,  — :  map,  125 

America:  125,  126,  130,  144,  183,  213, 
231;  early  representation  on  maps, 
117-118;  shown  as  continent,  117; 
Delisle  charts  coast,  170;  believed 
to  be  far  from  Asia,  190;  Bering's 
voyage  to,  165-220,  303-313;  shore 
hidden,  145 ;  coast  identified  as,  321, 
323  ;  failure  of  plans  for  reaching, 
182;  route  from  Kamchatka  to, 
325;  discovery,  151-164,  192,  327- 
329 ;  question  of  separation  from 
Asia,  114,  147-149,  166-169,  171, 
248,  251,  252,  307;  proved  separate, 
253  ;  explorers  desire  to  winter  in, 
202,  205,  206,  207 ;  Chukchi  famil- 
iar with,  152;  Gwosdef  ignorant  of 
seeing,  162;  Delisle  claims  Bering 
did  not  reach,  212,  footnote;  Stel- 
ler's  deductions  concerning,  194; 
Japanese  explorations  to,    128 

Amsterdam  Gazette:  quoted,  213, 
footnote 

Amur  River:  14,  37,  38,  48,  50,  53, 
54,  footnote,  61,  65,  67,  91,  footnote, 
228,  230,  249,  footnote,  255 ;  ex- 
ploration, 38 ;  first  map  showing, 
257-258;  origin  of  name,  255-256, 
footnote;  first  use  of  name,  36-37, 
footnote;  completion  of  survey  of, 
region,  251-266;  suggested  as 
boundary,  64;  false  reports  concern- 
ing, 40;  Russians  forced  to  fight 
way  down,  36-37;  region  deserted, 
51;  freed  of  Russians,  54;  attempts 
to  reinforce  posts,  59,  footnote;  im- 
portance not  realized,  64 

Amur  Sea :  see  Pacific  Ocean 


348 


RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


Anabara  River:  237,  239 

Anadirski   [Anadirskoi]    Cape   [Nos] : 

99,  152,  158,  160 
Anaduir    [Ananduir]    River:    77,    83, 
102,    103,    footnote,    107,    155,    158, 
163,    169,   231,   244,   247,   248,   269, 
282;   unknown,  85;  erroneous  ideas 
concerning,    68,    84;    discovery,    67, 
74;    Laptef   explores,    247;    Selives- 
trof    reaches,    75 ;    claims    for    and 
against    Deshnef's    exploration    of, 
76-95 ;    distance    from    East    Cape, 
78    and    footnote;    impossibility    of 
water  communication  with  Koluima 
River,  71 ;   see  also  Pogicha  River, 
277 
Anaduir  Sea:  ice  interferes  with  nav- 
igation, 84 
Anaduirsk   (station):  157;  tribute  de- 
manded,  29 
Anaduirskoi  Ostrog:  273 
Andrievich,    V.    K:    works    cited,    18, 

footnote,  19,  footnote,  341 
Angara  [Angarka]  River:  33,  247 
Angora  (Chodinski)  :  73 
Anian  Strait:  125,  133,  footnote,  307; 
named,  118;   see  also  Bering  Strait 
Aniui  River:  73,  247,  277 
Ankudinof,     Gerasim     [Erasim] :    ac- 
companies   expedition,     269;     kotsh 
wrecked,    81,    271;    fate,    281,    287, 
288 
Anthony  Island:  246 
Anziforof,  Danilo:  leader  of  band  of 
outlaws,   103,   104,  footnote;   reason 
for  seeking  Kuril  Islands,   no 
Apraxin,    Count:    133,    footnote,    139, 

footnote 
Araumakutan  Island    (Kuril   group)  : 

113,  footnote 
Arcano  del  Mare:  cited,  123 
Archangel  Michael   (boat):  221,  222; 

under  command  of  Shelting,  228 
Arctic   Ocean:   68,    84,    133,    footnote, 
144,    163,   269,   275;    free   from   ice, 
82-83 
Arguni  River:  56 


Asia:  124,  125,  181,  213,  231;  question 
of  separation  from  America,  166- 
169,  171,  248,  251,  252,  307;  proved 
separate,  253 ;  expedition  to  deter- 
mine whether  separate,  114;  routes 
to,  303-313;  believed  to  be  far  from 
America,  190;  proximity  to  Amer- 
ica, 194 

Ataman  (officer)  :  21,  footnote,  24; 
salary,  25 

Atka  Island:  204 

Atlasof  (Vladimir)  :  23,  footnote,  128, 
footnote,  281 ;  brief  account,  99, 
footnote ;  explorations  to  Kamchat- 
ka, 98-101 ;  report  concerning  Kuril 
Islands,  no;  ignorant  of  Deshnef's 
explorations,  92;  made  golova,  101 ; 
lawlessness,  102,  footnote;  down- 
fall, 101-102;  murdered,  104,  foot- 
note 

Avatcha:  210;  Bering  desires  to 
reach,  198,  209,  footnote;  distance 
of  Bering  from,  203,  207 

Avatcha  Bay:  181,  184,  185,  220 

Avatcha  River:  104,  footnote 

Bachteyarof,  Enalei   (scribe)  :  34 
Bachtin,  V:  337;  work  cited,  341 
Baer,  K.  E.  von:  338,  339;  work  cited, 

341 ;  work  discussed,  340 
Baffins  Bay:  124,  307 
Baiton,    Afanase     (German    military 

engineer)  :    supervises    erection    of 

fortifications,     60-61 ;     successor    to 

Tolbusin,   63 
Bancroft,    Hubert    H:    184,    footnote, 

339;  work  cited,  341 
Baranof  Cape:  86,  footnote,  247 
Baratinski,  Prince:  173,  footnote 
Barsukof,  I :  work  cited,  262,  footnote, 

263,  264,  footnote,  341 
Beach,  W.  G:  thanked,  16 
Bear  Islands:  246 
Bellin,     — :     231;     views     regarding 

Jeso,   129 
Beloi  Island:  234 
Berch,  V:  work  cited,  341 


INDEX 


349 


Berezof  (Siberia)  :  234 
Bering  [Beering,  Behring],  Vitus:  68, 
115,  128,  footnote,  129,  160,  227, 
236,  238,  247,  259,  footnote,  299, 
327>  333  >  raised  in  rank,  171;  com- 
plaints against,  174-177;  little  re- 
sponsibility over  Arctic  voyages, 
232;  fails  to  leave  instructions, 
243 ;  whereabouts  unknown,  246 ; 
sends  aid  to  Lasinius,  242-243 ; 
trouble  with  Pizaref,  173,  footnote; 
refuses  to  allow  Steller  to  join 
Chytref,  193;  refuses  to  allow 
Spanberg  to  make  second  expedi- 
tion, 226;  proposition  laid  before 
empress,  166-169;  voyages  men- 
tioned, 14;  original  plans,  181; 
cause  of  failure,  181-182;  calls  con- 
sultation, 183 ;  explorations,  303- 
313;  first  expedition,  133-149;  con- 
sidered failure,  165;  second  ex- 
pedition, 165-220;  obstacles  re- 
maining after  discovery  of  Amer- 
ica, 192-193  ;  Delisle's  report  of  ex- 
plorations, 212,  footnote,  303-313; 
question  whether  he  proved  his 
point,  147-148 ;  report  to  empress, 
148-149 ;  journal  of  voyage  to 
America  missing,  336;  taken  ashore, 
210;  death,  211  and  footnote,  212, 
footnote;  burial  place  unknown, 
249;  monument  erected  to,  213; 
claim  to  greatness,  213-214;  family 
rewarded,  249,  footnote 

Bering  Island:  149,   189 

Bering    Sea:   83 

Bering  Strait:  76,  77,  footnote,  87,  99, 
footnote,  152,  163,  251,  252;  known 
as  Anian,  118 

Betge,  — :  210 

Bibliotheque  Germanique:  quoted, 
213,   footnote 

Big  Baranof  Cape:  246 

Bikovskoi    Cape:  237,   243 

Billings,  Joseph  (explorer)  :  253 ; 
commissioned  to  chart  Arctic  coast, 
252 ;    failure    to    double    cape,    95 ; 


work  cited,  196,  footnote,  252,  foot- 
note,  341 

Biltsof,  — :  227,  footnote 

Bistraya  River:  139 

Bludnoi   River:   239 

Bolshaya  River:  104,  footnote,  109, 
147,  156,  158,  178,  222,  224,  226, 
228;  Bering  enters,  139 

Bolsheretsk  Ostrog:  140,  297 

Bolsheretzk  (boat):  222,  226,  228; 
Spanberg  loses  sight  of,  229;  num- 
ber on  board,  229 

Bolshoi  Kamennoi  Nos:  77,  footnote, 
87;  claimed  to  be  East  Cape,  78 

Bolshoi  Nos:  location,   81 

Borisof,  Ivan:  135,  footnote 

Borkhaya  Bay:  242 

Botany:  seaweeds  found,  191 

Boundaries:  stated,  291;  Amur  River 
suggested  as,  64;  Lena  River,  17 

Bredal,  P.  P:  250,  footnote 

Broughton,  W.  R:  263,  265;  explora- 
tions, 260,  261 ;  work  cited,  260, 
footnote,  341 

Brynda  River:  exploring  party  reach, 

35 
Buache,  P:  231;  work  cited,  341 
Buldakof,  — :  93 
Bureya  River:   56,   58 
Buriats:  Mongols  demand,   57-58 
Burney,   J.   A:   248,  252;    work  cited, 

248,  footnote,  252,  footnote,  341 
Bustofski:  135,  footnote 
Butlask    (station):    tribute   demanded, 

29 
Butsinski,  P:  work  cited,  341,  and  in 

footnotes,  18,  20,  24 

Calendar:  general  remarks,  15 
California:    125,    305;    as    shown    in 

early  maps,  117,  125,  126,  127 
Canada:  130,  footnote 
Cape  Aniwa:  254 
Cape  Baranof:   see  Baranof   Cape 
Cape   Blanco:  130,    248 
Cape  Borkhaya:  243,  244 
Cape  Elias:  named,   192 


35o         RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


Cape  Elizabeth:  265 

Cape  Lopatka:  see   Lopatka   Cape 

Cape  Matte-Sol:  235 

Cape  Mendocino:  130 

Cape  North:  251 

Cape   Patience:   122,   254 

Cape  St.  Thaddeus:  142,  239,  241 

Cape  Taimur:  231 

Caravaglio   (Jesuit)  :  goes  to  Jeso,  119 

Caron,  — :  120,  footnote 

Castel,  R.  P:  128,  footnote 

Catherine  (Empress  of  Russia)  :  or- 
ders survey,  252 

Cathrinesburg  (Siberia)  :  213,  foot- 
note, 327 

Channing,  Prof.  Edward:  thanked,  15 

Chaplin,  Peter:  135,  footnote,  337; 
seeks  fresh  water,  142 

Charinsk  (station)  :  tribute  demand- 
ed, 28 

Chariulach  River:  242 

Chariyuzovka:   109,   footnote 

Charlevoix,  P:  work  cited,  124,  foot- 
note,   128,    footnote,    129,    footnote, 

Chartinof,  Ivan :  109 

Chatanga  Bay:  236,  238,  239 

Chatanga  River:  238,  241 

Chaun:  77,  footnote 

Chaun  Bay:  85 

Chegachef,  — :  183 

Chekin,  — :  instructed  to  round  North 
East  Cape,  240;  gives  up,  241 

Cheluskin,  —  (pilot):  238;  instruc- 
tions for  exploring,  240;  carries 
out  instructions,  241 ;  promoted, 
250,  footnote 

Cherbinin,  — :  instructions  for  ex- 
ploring, 247 ;  explores  river,  246 

Chernigofski,    Nikifor:   kills   woewod, 

55 
China:  14,  56,  footnote,  88,  footnote, 
91,  footnote,  118,  122,  127  and  foot- 
note, 259,  264,  303,  309;  passage  to, 
68,  133,  footnote;  goods  shipped  to, 
20,  footnote;  on  the  Amur,  33-66; 
fails     to      realize      importance      of 


Amur,  65 ;  aids  in  surveys  and  ex- 
plorations, 253 ;  knows  little  con- 
cerning Sakhalin,  253 ;  natives  of 
Siberia  flee  to  Chinese  territory,  27 ; 
natives  prefer,  to  Russia,  37 ;  rela- 
tion of  natives  with,  35;  natives 
pay  tribute  to,  48 ;  Dauri  and 
Ducheri  ask  aid  from,  47-48 ;  gov- 
ernment orders  natives  to  vacate 
lands,  51 ;  objects  to  Russian  ex- 
pansion, 56;  withdraws  troops,  55; 
attempt  to  evade  war,  57 ;  prepares 
to  fight,  57-58 ;  fails  to  learn  lesson, 
65-66;  treaty  of  Nertchinsk,  291- 
293.  Cities  -  Peking,  48,  54,  foot- 
note, 55,  63,  311;  Shanghai,  130. 
See  also  Trade:  Chinese 
Chinese:  255;  trade  with,  28,  foot- 
note; tribute  gatherers,  37;  in  na- 
tive settlement,  45;  plundered,  51; 
Russians  interfere  with  hunters,  56 ; 
hunters  killed,  56;  intermarry  with 
Russians,  54,  footnote;  criminals 
flee  to  Albasin,  56 ;  cowardice  re- 
futed, 48-49,  footnote;  number  in 
Nertchinsk,  54,  footnote;  Russians 
fear,  49;  order  Ducheri  to  vacate 
lands,  53;  army  advances,  47,  58; 
encounter  with  Russians,  52-54,  61 ; 
fighting  force,  54,  footnote,  59, 
footnote,  62;  take  no  part  in  battle, 
45,  footnote;  spies,  58;  attack 
Khabarof's  men,  48 ;  victory,  52 ; 
defeat,  52 ;  prepare  for  new  siege, 
53;  result,  53-54;  victors,  54; 
promises  to  Russians  who  join 
army,  58,  footnote;  treatment  of 
prisoners,  57;  quartered  at  Aihun, 
59,  footnote;  Tolbusin  defies,  61; 
withdraw,  63  ;  secret  understanding 
with  Mongols,  58 ;  Jesuits  in  sym- 
pathy with,  64;  watch  Amur,  55; 
confer  with  Russians,  63 ;  ideas  re- 
garding lands  of  Pacific,  127:  to 
be  kept  ignorant  of  expedition,  262 ; 
name  for  Amur,  256,  footnote; 
maps  mentioned,   311 


INDEX 


35i 


Chinese    Sea:     88,   footnote 

Chirikof  [Chirkof],  Alexei:  130, 
footnote,  190,  202,  212,  footnote,  327, 
336;  selected  as  leader  of  expedi- 
tion, 133,  footnote,  134,  136;  sug- 
gests changes  in  Bering's  proposi- 
tion, 169;  advice  regarding  ex- 
plorations, 144-145 ;  not  to  show 
instructions,  171 ;  raised  in  rank, 
171;  believed  to  have  suffered  little 
on  march,  139,  footnote;  complaints 
against  Bering,  174;  care  of  bag- 
gage train,  172;  in  command  of 
St.  Paul,  183;  gives  code  of  signals, 
184;  voyage,  184-189,  lists',  re- 
turn to  St.  Petersburg,  189;  sick- 
ness and  death,  189,  249;  does  not 
receive  sufficient  credit,  338;  Jour- 
nal, cited,  185,  footnote,  188,  foot- 
note, 189,  footnote,  341 

Chirikof,  Peter:  finds  Koriaks  hos- 
tile, 103,  footnote;  Lipin  relieves, 
104,  footnote;  murdered,  104,  foot- 
note 

Chiruche  (trader)  :  mentioned,  27, 
footnote 

Chodinski    (native  tribe)  :  73 

Chodonsk  (station)  :  tribute  demand- 
ed, 29 

Choris,  L:     340 

Chtenia  V  Imperatorskom  Istorii  I 
Drevnostei  Rossiskich :  cited,  341, 
also  in  footnotes,  33,  34,  92,  98,  99, 
no,  255 

Chukchi  (native  tribe)  :  72,  81,  141, 
footnote,  144,  145,  271 ;  use  of  lab- 
ret,  82  and  footnote ;  Koriaks  wish, 
to  unite  against  Russians,  98,  106; 
visit  Russian  boats,  145 ;  most  war- 
like of  native  tribes,  151;  Shesta- 
kof  plans  conquest  of,  156;  explor- 
ers encounter,  160-161 ;  Pavlutski 
attacks,  163  ;  roused  by  attack,  163- 
164;  keep  Pavlutski's  head  as  tro- 
phy, 164;  reports  not  accepted, 
248 ;        accompany       Gikef,       252 ; 


trouble  with,  282;  Kozirefski  sub- 
dues, 295 

Chukotski  Cape:  143,  161;  unknown 
in  17th  century,  68 

Chukotski  Nos:  77,  footnote,  171,  279; 
Deshnef  stops  at,  76;  Laptef  to  cir- 
cumnavigate, 246 

Chukotski  Peninsula:  unknown  in  17th 
century,   68 

Chwostof,  — :  expedition  to  Sakha- 
lin, 262 

Chytref,  S:  182,  208,  209,  footnote, 
2I8,  335!  ordered  to  make  explora- 
tions, 193;  explorations,  196,  200; 
examines  shore,  219,  footnote;  pro- 
moted, 250,  footnote;  sick,  211;  in 
common  quarters,  214;  Journal, 
cited,  342 

Clerk,  Captain  — :  189,  footnote 

Cocks,  Richard:  reports  new  land,  118 
and  footnote 

Company  Land:  189,  190,  231,  309; 
Delisle  draws  map  of,  170;  non- 
existence  proved,   248 

Compass:  ignorance  of,  78  and  foot- 
note 

Cook,  James  (explorer)  :  71,  149, 
189,  footnote,  248,  253;  voyage, 
251;  work  cited,  251,  footnote,   342 

Coolidge,  Prof.  A.  C:  thanked,   15 

Coronelli,  P:  map,  125 

Cossacks:  see  Russians 

Coxe,  W:  338,  work  cited,  251,  foot- 
note,  341 ;   work  discussed,  340 

Crimean  War:  264 

Crimes  and  Punishments:  explora- 
tions to  expiate  crimes,  no;  Chi- 
nese criminals  flee  to  Albasin,  56; 
outlaws  in  Kamchatka,  103  ;  of  At- 
lasof,  102,  footnote;  of  Pizaref,  173, 
footnote;  distilling,  22-23,  23>  foot- 
note; murder,  104,  footnote;  murder 
of  woewod,  55;  stealing,  113,  foot- 
note; white  slave  trade,  19;  various 
punishments,  23,  104-105,  footnote; 
of  soldiers,  19-20,  footnote;  jails,  26, 


352 


RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


footnote;  capital  punishment,  22, 
105,  249-250,  footnote;  Steller  im- 
prisoned, 250,  footnote;  criminals 
sent  to  Nertchinsk,  56,  footnote 
Currency:  kopek,  25,  footnote;  ruble - 
value,   25 ;   footnote 

D'Aguillar,  Martin:  305 

Dall,  W.  H:  work  cited,  342 

D'Anville,  M:  128,  footnote,  231,  259, 
footnote ;  opinion  regarding  Jeso, 
129 

Dauri  (native  tribe):  56,  footnote; 
settlement,  36;  visited,  40;  Khab- 
arof  meets,  43 ;  Siberians  encount- 
er, 43-44;  deceive  Russians,  46; 
ask  aid  from  China,  47-48 ;  Chi- 
nese order  to  change  location,  51 ; 
tribute  demanded,  55 

Dauria:  88,   footnote 

Davidof,  — :  expedition  to  Sakhalin, 
262 

Davidson,  G:  work  cited,  342 

De  Angelis  (Father)  :  119 

De  Angelis,  Jerome:  reports  new 
land,   119 

Debne:  Japanese  captive,  101  and 
footnote 

De  Castries  Bay:  264  and  footnote, 
265 

De  Constanzo,  Camillo  (Jesuit)  :  data 
concerning  Jeso,   119 

De  Gama,  Juan  [Jean] :  303,  305, 
307,  309 ;  discovers  new  lands,  122- 
123 ;   first  to  see  Jeso,   126 

Dela  Chranjas-Chijasa  V.  Admiral- 
teistvo-Kollegi:  cited,   134,   footnote 

Delisle,  Guillaume:  125,  133,  foot- 
note, 231,  248;  brief  sketch,  130, 
footnote;  idea  of  Japan,  126,  127, 
footnote;  various  ideas  regarding 
Jeso,  126-127;  sums  up  geograph- 
ical situation,  130;  debt  to  Witsen, 
258 ;  brother  bases  map  on  map  of, 
170,  footnote 

Delisle,   Joseph   N:  brief  sketch,   130, 


footnote;  draws  up  map,  170;  re 
port  of  Bering's  explorations,  212, 
footnote;  map  and  report  present- 
ed to  Senate,  303-313;  misjudged, 
183-184,   footnote;    work   cited,    342 

Delisle  [Del  'Isle]  de  la  Croyere, 
Louis:  183,  184,  212,  footnote,  315; 
brief  sketch,  130,  footnote;  to  ac- 
company Bering,  170;  instruments 
taken,  172,  footnote;  complaints 
against  Bering,  174-177;  leaves 
Okhotsk,   178 ;   death,  189,  249,  325 

Delisle  de  la  Croyere,  Nicolai:  189, 
footnote 

Delisle  Manuscripts:  114,  footnote, 
139,  footnote,  159,  184,  footnote, 
188,  footnote,  226,  footnote,  231, 
298,  footnote,  322,  324,  328,  foot- 
note, 330,  footnote,  332,  footnote, 
342;    discussed,   337 

Dementief,  —  (pilot)  :  sent  ashore, 
186;    fate,    186-187,   footnote 

Denmark:  134 

De  Sabir,  — :  work  cited,  262,  foot- 
note, 264,  footnote 

Deshnef,  Semon  Iwanof:  chosen  lead- 
er of  expedition,  269 ;  account  of 
service,  71-72;  discovers  water  pas- 
sage between  Koluima  and  Ana- 
duir,  71 ;  accompanies  Alexeef,  73 ; 
explorations,  74-75,  268-281,  282- 
288 ;  reports  to  Jakutsk,  75 ;  crit- 
ical examination  of  voyage,  67-95  > 
proof  of  passage  from  Koluima  to 
Anaduir  by  water,  76-77;  refuta- 
tion of  proof,  77-95 ;  obstacles  fac- 
ed, 94;  report  vague,  85;  reports 
recently  published,  76 

Desyatnik  (officer)  :  23,  footnote,  24, 
36 

Detiboyarski  (officer) :  21,  footnote, 
23,   footnote,  24;   salary,  25 

Devyer,  Anton:  successor  to  Pizaref, 
173,   footnote 

DeWitt,  Fred:  map  maker,  124 

Diomede  Islands:  81 


INDEX 


353 


Diseases  and  Remedies:  ill  health 
caused  by  exposure,  249 ;  sickness 
on  shipboard,  189;  quarters  for 
and  care  of  sick,  214;  sufferings  of 
the  sick,  211;  scurvy,  121,  192,  197, 
199,  242 ;  Chirikof  contracts  con- 
sumption, 250,  footnote;  herbs  for 
medicinal  purposes,  199;  many 
deaths,  27,  208,  210 

Distilleries:  mentioned,   30,  footnote 

Distilling:    secretly,    22,    23,    footnote 

Dixon,  George:  work  cited,  342 

Dolgoi   Island:  233 

Dolgoruki,  Prince:  173,  footnote,  228, 
235;  instructions  regarding,  236, 
footnote 

Dopolnenia  K.  Aktam  Istoricheskim : 
cited,  337,  342,  also  in  footnotes, 
17,  19,  20,  22,  23,  24,  25,  26,  27, 
28,  30,  34.  35,  36,  38,  39,  44,  47, 
48,  50,  51,  52,  53,  54,  55,  56,  57, 
58,  59,  60,  61,  62,  63,  64,  72,  73, 
74,  75,  83,  87,  256,  282,  287,  288 

Dseya  River:  36,  40,  50,  51,  57,  foot- 
note, 61 ;  first  knowledge  by  Rus- 
sians, 33;  grain  reported  abund- 
ant on  banks,  33;  exploration,  35; 
country  deserted,  46 ;  forts  on,  52 ; 
ostrogs  built  on,  56 ;  forts  erected, 
58 ;   fort  needed   at  mouth,  65 

Ducheri  (native  tribe):  47;  asks  aid 
from  China,  47-48 ;  tribute  de- 
manded from,  55;  ordered  to  va- 
cate lands,   53 

Dudley,  Robert:  work  cited,  123  and 
footnote 

Du  Halde,  J.  B:  work  cited,  54,  foot- 
note, 59,  footnote,  62,  253,  footnote, 
259  and  footnote,  291,  342 

Dutch:  134,  footnote,  183,  255,  309, 
311;  explorations,  119,  120-121,  123, 

3"-3i3 
Dutch    East    India    Company:    120; 

sends   out  exploring   party,   255 
Duval,    Pierre:   regards  Jeso   as   part 

of  America,   124;   maps,   124 


Dwina   River:   232 
Dyak    (secretary):  23,   24;    authority, 
24,   footnote;   salary,   25 

East  Cape:  76,  77,  footnote,  87,  248, 
251,  252;  reached  by  Deshnef,  76; 
proof  of  Deshnef's  voyage  depend- 
ant on,  77 ;  distance  from  Anaduir 
River,  78  and  footnote;  see  also 
Chukotski  Nos 

East  India   Company:  118 

Economic  Conditions:  in  general  — 
fires,  26,  footnote;  industries  of  Si- 
beria, 17  and  footnote;  quarters  for 
winter,  214-215.  Cost  —  of  expe- 
dition, 169;  food,  25,  footnote; 
walrus  tusks,  75,  footnote.  Food  — 
reported  on  banks  of  rivers,  33,  34; 
Chirikof  brings,  139;  difficulty  of 
obtaining,  137;  problem  in  arctic 
expedition,  93-94;  supplied  for 
year,  141  and  footnote ;  on  ship- 
board, 219;  supplied  to  conquer- 
ors, 46 ;  Chinese  supply,  63 ;  lost, 
181-182;  as  part  of  salary,  25; 
force  supply,  37;  cheap  in  Kam- 
chatka, 166;  of  natives,  321; 
abundant,  33,  35,  61 ;  false  report 
of  abundance,  35-36;  scarce,  51, 
53,  138,  275;  bread,  215;  deer, 
160;  ducks,  139,  footnote;  fish,  53; 
grain,  40,  44,  53,  62,  footnote;  har- 
vest, 60;  human  flesh,  36  and  foot- 
note; meat,  210,  215,  218-219;  in 
trade,  145.  Population — native, 
29;  Russians  in  Siberia,  23  and 
footnote,  58-59,  footnote.  Supplies 
—  sent  to  Okhotsk,  178;  difficulty 
of  transferring  from  Jakutsk  to  Ok- 
hotsk, 173-174;  Spanberg  forced  to 
go  to  Jakutsk  for,  228  ;  on  St.  Peter, 
listed,  182,  footnote;  provided, 
239;  sent  to  Taimur  Bay,  241. 
Water — scarcity,  187,  198,  207, 
209,  319;  fresh  secured,  193;  in 
exchange    for    knives,    188 ;    Kasi- 


354         RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


merof  sent  for,  225 ;  distilling  salt, 
188-189;   brackish,   199 

Egache  River:   156 

Elchin,  —  (woewod)  :  108 

Elliot,  C:  sent  against  Russians,  264- 
265 

Ensel,  Richard:  135,  footnote 

Eskimo:  82,  footnote 

Europe:  117 

Europeans:  127;  information  from 
Japanese,  118;  little  benefit  from 
Japanese    explorations,    255 

Expedition    (boat)  :    232 

Expeditions:    see    Explorations 

Explorations:  in  general — for  water 
passage  to  Kamchatka,  107-108 ; 
land  discovered,  192;  in  Siberia, 
34-37;  results,  37-38;  in  North 
Pacific  Ocean,  117;  report  by 
Gwosdef,  160-162;  of  shipwrecked 
crew,  217-218.  Arctic  —  250-266; 
divided  into  five  sections,  231-232; 
Archangel  to  Ob,  232-234;  Ob  to 
Yenisei,  234-236;  Yenisei  to  Cape 
Taimur,  236-237;  Lena  to  Cape 
Taimur,  237-241 ;  Lena  to  the  Ana- 
duir,  242-250.  Sent  out  by  various 
countries — Dutch,  121-122;  Japan, 
127-128,  221-231;  Spain,  120;  Rus- 
sia, see  under  names  of  individ- 
uals. Under  command  of  various 
individuals- Atlasof,  98-101;  Ber- 
ing, 303-313;  first,  133-149;  sec- 
ond, 165-250;  Chirikof,  315-325; 
Deshnef,  74-95,  268-281 ;  Khabar- 
of's  first,  38-40;  result,  43;  sec- 
ond, 43-44;  third,  44-51;  Kobelef, 
102-103;  Pavlutski,  157-158;  Shes- 
takof,  153-157;  Spanberg,  331-333! 
Staduchin,  72-73;  Steller,  327-329; 
sent  out  by  Peter  the  Great,  114 

Ezhenesyachinia  Sochinenia  i  Isves- 
iia  O   Uchenic/i  Delach:  cited,  19 

Fedorof,  — :   155,   158;    Gwosdef   at- 
tacks, 160 
Fido-tada    (shogun)  :   254 


Fisher,  J.  E:  work  cited,  342 

Fletcher,  F:  work  cited,  342 

Formosa:   122 

Forster,  J.  R:  work  cited,   342 

Fort   Archangelsk :    106 

Fort  Jakutsk:  when  built,  17,  foot- 
note 

Fort  Makofska:  135 

Fort  Yeniseisk:  237 

Forts:  needed,  65;   recommended,  106 

Foxes:  infest  camp,  211   and  footnote 

France:  125,  259;  aids  in  survey  and 
explorations,    253;    Paris,    15,    337 

Franklin,   Sir  John:  71 

Franzbekof,  Dimitri  (woewod)  :  en- 
courages explorations,   39 

Gama  Land:  183,  190;  Delisle  draws 
map  of,  170;  proved  not  to  exist, 
231 

Gavrilof,  — :  expedition  to  Sakhalin, 
262 

Gazette  d' Amsterdam:   quoted,   328 

Gazette  de  France:  quoted,  213,  foot- 
note, 326,  footnote,  330 

Geography:  of  Siberia  in  17th  cen- 
tury, 67-71 ;  early  interest  in,  88, 
footnote;  lack  of  increased  know- 
ledge, 117;  gains  from  explora- 
tions, 248-249 ;  value  of  Spanberg's 
expedition,    231 

Gerasim,  — :  death,  84 

Gikef,  — :  sent  to  East  Cape,  252 

Giliaks  (natives):  51,  262,  footnote] 
captured,   37 

Gmelin,  J.  G:  337;  scientific  re- 
searches, 170;  complaints  against 
Bering,  174-177;  work  cited,  147, 
footnote,  342 

Godunof,  Peter:  256,  footnote;  or- 
dered to  draw  up  maps,  88,  foot- 
note; map  copied,  91;  maps,  67, 
256-257    and   footnote 

Golitsin,    N.   M:   250,    footnote 

Golova  (officer):  23,  27,  footnote; 
duties,  20,  22;  salary,  25;  woe- 
wod's    authority   over,    24;    instruc- 


INDEX 


355 


tions  regarding  departing  woe- 
wods,   21,   footnote 

Golovin,  A.  I.  (member  of  Admiralty 
College):  250,  footnote,  331,  333; 
desires  Bering  to  attempt  second 
expedition,   165 

Golovkin,  M:  250,  footnote 

Golowin,  Peter  (woewod)  :  orders  ex- 
ploration, 34;  does  not  use  name 
Amur,  36-37,  footnote;  out  of  of- 
fice, 38 

Golownin,  — :  262,  footnote 

Golvin,   N.   F:  250,   footnote 

Gorbea  River:   137 

Gorod:  described,   26,   footnote 

Great  Britain:  aids  in  surveys  and 
explorations,  253 ;  ignorance  re- 
garding Sakhalin,  264;  feared, 
264,  footnote 

Guigudar   (native  settlement)  :  45,  46 

Gutzlaff,  C.  A:  work  cited,  342 

Gwosdef,  Michael  S:  155,  228;  brief 
sketch,  159-160;  burden  of  expedi- 
tion falls  on,  158;  reports  of  expe- 
dition,  159,   160-162 

Hakluyt  Society:  118,  footnote 
Harris,  J:  work  cited,  342 
Heeres,  J.  E:  work  cited,  121,  342 
Henning,  G:  work  cited,  342 
Hens,  — :   153,   158 
Hertslet,  G.  E.  P:  work  cited,  342 
Holland:  309,  331;  Amsterdam,  120 
Holy  Cross  Bay:  78,  142 
Homan,  Jean  Baptiste:  maps,   126 
Hostages:  26,  footnote,  295;    prevent- 
ed from   escaping,   26 ;    sent    as   se- 
curity   for    tribute,    27 ;    demanded, 
28-29;  Jakuts  not  required  to  give, 
28,  footnote;   natives  give,  46;  tor- 
tured,  46-47;    retained   by   Chinese, 
59 ;   Koriak,  99 
Hudson  Bay:  307 
Hurka  River:  64 

Ilima  River:  135,  172 


Ilimsk  (Siberia):  55,  155,  172;  ex- 
pedition winters  in,  135 

India:   passage   to,    133,    footnote 

Indigirka  River:  87,  107,  footnote, 
244,   246 

Indigirsk  (station)  :  tribute  demand- 
ed, 29 

Insula  Atlantis:   124 

Insurrection:    103-105,   footnote 

Irgen    (ostrog  in    Siberia)  :   54 

Irkutsk:  reports  sent  to,  159  and  foot- 
note 

Irkutsk  (boat)  :  242,  245 

Irtysh   River:    135,    172 

Italy:  Florence,  123,  Venice,  125 

Itcha    River:    101,    109 

Iturpu  Island  (Kuril  group)  :  113, 
footnote 

Iwanof,    Alexei:   215 

Jakuts  (native  tribe):  317;  tribute 
demanded,  28 ;  not  required  to 
give,  28,  footnote;  report  death  of 
Alexeef  and  Gerasim,  84;  aid  Shes- 
takof,  157;  plans  for  conversion  of, 
166 

Jakutsk  (Siberia)  :  17,  25,  27,  foot- 
note, 30,  33,  34,  71,  footnote,  72,  83, 
99,  108  113,  114,  footnote,  155,  172, 
173,  footnote,  226,  228,  238,  239, 
242,  footnote,  243,  244,  247,  255,  258, 
footnote,  271,  279,  331;  described, 
26 ;  prikaschik  leaves,  25 ;  returns, 
26 ;  report  of  woewod,  28 ;  food 
scarce,  33,  93 ;  expedition  starts 
from,  35;  exploring  party  returns, 
37;  hunter  visits  with  information, 
37-38;  Khabarof  returns  to,  40;  re- 
inforcements sent  from,  50;  appeal 
for  help,  57,  footnote;  center  for  ex- 
ploring parties,  67,  91 ;  reports  sent 
to,  75,  77,  102,  footnote;  records  in, 
77;  home  of  Atlasof,  92;  Atlasof  re- 
turns to,  101 ;  officers  desire  same 
route  to  Kamchatka,  102;  drained 
by  troubles  in  Kamchatka,  103  ;  steps 


356         RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


taken  to  regain  land  and  tribute, 
107;  expedition  leaves,  114;  expedi- 
tion unable  to  reach,  135;  Bering  ex- 
pedition reaches,  136;  supplies  re- 
turned to,  138,  footnote;  Pavlutski 
called  to,  164;  special  officers  or- 
dered to,  to  aid  expedition,  172; 
Pizaref  goes  to,   173,  footnote 

Jakutsk  (boat):  237;  springs  leak, 
240 

Jakutsk   Province:   17,   footnote 

Jana  River:  251 

Jansk  (station)  :  tribute  demanded, 
29 

Jansson,  — :   123 

Japan:  101,  footnote,  no,  113,  118, 
127,  footnote,  172,  181,  footnote, 
227,  footnote,  248,  264,  307;  aids  in 
surveys  and  explorations,  253 ;  pays 
little  attention  to  geography,  254, 
footnote;  Kozirefski  ordered  to  in- 
vestigate, 295-296;  Spanberg's  voy- 
age to,  220-231;  documents  bear- 
ing on  Spanberg's  voyage,  331- 
333;  America  represented  near, 
117;  question  of  Bering's  party 
wintering  in,  202 ;  news  of  Jeso, 
118,  119;  map  of,  123;  shown  on 
map,  311;  city  on  Matsmai  Island, 
113,  footnote;  Nippon,  118,  223, 
224,  225,  254;  Nagasaki,  130;  see 
also  Jeso 

Japanese:  255;  held  as  captive,  101 ; 
acts  as  guide,  no;  sends  out  ex- 
ploring parties,  254;  shipwrecked 
to  be  taken  back  to  Japan,  221 ; 
care  taken  not  to  offend,  221 ;  ship- 
wrecked in  Kamchatka,  228 ;  trade 
desirable,  166;  Watson  encounters, 
225;  land  indicated  as  Jeso,  127; 
slight  knowledge  concerning  Sak- 
halin, 254;  give  information  to 
Europeans,  118;  give  information 
regarding  Japan,  127,  footnote; 
give  information  of  Kuril  Islands, 
no,   113 

Java:  Batavia,  120,  121;  Texeira,  123 


Jeso  [Compagnie  Land,  Eso,  Gama 
Land,  Iesso,  Jeco,  Jesso,  Yeco,  Yed- 
so,  Yeso,  Yesso] :  309 ;  reports  con- 
cerning, explorations,  and  confusion 
regarding,  119-131;  Delisle  draws 
map  of,   170 

Jesuits:  123,  129,  255;  side  with 
Chinese,  64;  little  time  for  explor- 
ations, 119;  discoveries  less  than 
Dutch,  123;  explorations,  259;  re- 
port new  lands,  118,  119;  know- 
ledge of  Japan  through,  311;  ig- 
norant of  Sakhalin,  253 ;  letters 
helpful,    336 

Juschin,  — :  182,  207 

Kachanof,  Vasili:  109 

Kaempfer,  E:  Japan's  idea  of  Jeso, 
127;  quotes  from  Japanese,  128; 
proves  insularity  of  Japan,  129; 
work  cited,  342 

Kamchadels  (native  tribe):  98,  319; 
location,  109 ;  reports  concerning 
Russians,  281;  submit  to  Atlasof, 
100;    Kozirefski   subdues,   295 

Kamchatka:  93,  footnote,  no,  166, 
169,  171,  191,  197,  205,  207,  208, 
213,  footnote,  215,  217,  220,  228, 
footnote,  229,  244,  258,  footnote, 
263,  307,  311;  same  as  Japanese 
Oku-Yeso,  128;  Russian  explorations 
in,  97-115;  route  to,  102,  105-106, 
107 ;  route  to  America  from,  325 ; 
Japanese  touch,  128 ;  Atlasof  al- 
lowed to  return  to,  102,  footnote ; 
Alexeef  wrecked  in,  76,  84;  ex- 
plorers leave  for,  178,  227;  boats 
to  be  built,  166;  expedition  to  start 
from,  134;  reaches,  114  and  foot- 
note; sailors  desire  to  return  to, 
162;  report  of  the  natives,  146;  in- 
surrection of  Russians,  103-105  ;  De- 
lisle  draws  map  of,  170;  Russians 
attempt  to  attain,  97;  Petropav- 
lovsk,  220;  city  founded,  181 

Kamchatka  Cape:  160,  295;  cape 
known   as   Kamchatka   Nos,  99-100, 


INDEX 


357 


footnote;  known  as  Lopatka  Cape, 
ioo,   footnote 

Kamchatka  River:  97,  100,  102,  109, 
x38,  139,  144,  151,  160,  162,  169, 
281,  297;  reached,  146;  good  har- 
bor, 166 

Kamchatka  Sea:  water  known  as,  100, 
footnote 

Kara  Sea:  232,  233 

Karaga   River:   103,   footnote 

Karaginski  Island:  105,  footnote,  146, 
166 

Kasimerof,  — :  227,  footnote;  sent  for 
water,  225 

Kasin,  — :  229 

Kasselberg,   — :    182 

Katui  Island  (Kuril  group)  :  113, 
footnote 

Kayak  Island:   196,  footnote 

Keller,  Heinrich:  261,  footnote 

Kennan,  George:  95,  footnote 

Khabarof,  Yarka  Pavlof:  expeditions 
to  Amur  River,  38-40,  43-44,  44- 
51;  results  of  expeditions,  40,  50- 
51;  receives  reinforcements,  50; 
taken  to  capital,  51;  song  of  vic- 
tory, 45 

Khabarofsk    (Siberia)  :  mentioned,  47 

Khamarsk    (Siberia)  :   52 

Khumar  River:  52,  61 

Kindyakof,  — :  instructions,  247;  to 
survey  river,  244,  245 ;  explores 
river  and  coast,  246 

Kin-firo:  254 

Kirgizof,  Constantin :  insurrection, 
105,  footnote 

Kirilof,  I:  227,  footnote,  250,  foot- 
note; desires  Bering  to  attempt 
second  expedition,   165 

Klaproth,  J:  253,  footnote;  work  cit- 
ed,   254,     footnote,    259,     footnote; 

343 

Kobelef,  — :  traces  route  to  Kamchat- 
ka, 102 

Kodiak   Islands:   197 

Kolesof,  Vasili  (prikaschik)  :  punish- 
es   outlaws,     105,     footnote;     starts 


with  tribute,  106 ;  sends  out  expe- 
dition,  no 

Koliutchin  [Koliuchin]  Island:  252, 
253 

Koluima  [Kovima]  River:  68,  75,  77, 
81,  84,  footnote,  86,  87,  92  and 
footnote,  107,  footnote,  143,  144, 
244,  246,  247,  248,  251,  252,  271, 
282;  officers  report,  30,  footnote; 
regions  west  well  known,  68 ;  little 
food  near,  94;  impossibility  of  water 
communication  with  Anaduir,  71 ; 
erroneous  belief  of  Siberians  re- 
garding,  84 

Koluimsk  (station)  :  tribute  demand- 
ed, 29 

Koluimsk  Ostrog:  277 

Kopek :  see  Currency 

Korea:  121,  123,  227,  footnote,  309; 
early  representation  on  maps,  117; 
Japanese   give   information,   120 

Koriaks  (native  tribe)  :  84,  94,  foot- 
note, 281;  location,  97,  109;  char- 
acteristics, 84;  preparations  for 
war,  97-98  ;  cause  trouble,  100-101 ; 
campaign  against,  106;  determined 
to  keep  Russians  out,  102-103,  io3> 
footnote;  prevent  Russians  from  us- 
ing Anaduir  route,  97 ;  express  ig- 
norance of  river,  72 ;  join  Yukagirs, 
106;  aid  Pavlutski  against  Chukchi, 
163 ;  Shestakof  plans  conquest  of, 
156;  Kozirefski  sent  to  subdue,  295; 
thefts  from,  102 ;  boats  obtained 
from,  102 ;  Bering's  party  encoun- 
ters, 142-143 

Korowin  (Stephen)  :  sent  as  messen- 
ger, 63 

Koshelof,  — :  placed  in  command  of 
Tobol,  235 

Koslof,  Ivan:  135,  footnote,  250, 
footnote 

Kotsh:  see   Transportation:  kotsh 

Kotzebue,  Otto  von:  work   cited,   343 

Kozirefski,    Fedor:   295 

Kozirefski,  Ignatius  [Iwan  Petro- 
witz] :   23,    footnote,    136,   footnote; 


358 


RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


character,  113-114,  footnote;  false 
reports  regarding,  113,  footnote; 
leader  of  band  of  outlaws,  103, 
104,  footnote;  expedition,  110-113; 
traces  chain  of  islands,  113;  orig- 
inal report,  113,  footnote;  explora- 
tions, 129 ;  becomes  member  of  ex- 
pedition, 155,  footnote;  brings 
peace  between  leaders,  155;  order- 
ed to  subdue  natives,  295 ;  investi- 
gations regarding  Japan,  295-296; 
result  of  labors,  297 

Kozirefski,    Peter:    295 

Krasheninnikof,  S.  P:  337;  scientific 
researches,  170;  work  cited,   343 

Krusenstern,  A.  J:  253,  footnote;  ex- 
plorations, 260,  261 ;  opinion  re- 
garding Sakhalin  accepted,  262; 
work  cited,  260,   footnote,  343 

Kunashir  Island  (Kuril  group)  :  113, 
footnote 

Kuril  Islands:  129,  155,  156,  207, 
208,  22  .,  226,  231 ;  discovered,  104, 
footnote,  122;  name  first  applied, 
109-110;  many  of,  named,  222;  lo- 
cated, 109;  enumerated,  113,  foot- 
note; information  and  explorations, 
109-115;  settlement  planned,  103; 
information  from  Japan,  no; 
Dutch  reach,   121 

Kuznetsof,  E.  V:  work  cited,   343 

Laborde,  J.  B :  work  cited,  343 

Lake  Baikal:  mentioned,  38,  91,  foot- 
note 

Lama  Sea:  109;  Sea  of  Okhotsk 
known  as,  100,  footnote;  official 
route   to   Kamchatka,    109 

Laperouse  [La  Perouse],  J.  B:  187, 
footnote,  189,  footnote,  261,  foot- 
note, 253,  footnote,  265;  voyage, 
251;  explorations,  260;  work  cited, 
260,  footnote,  343 

Laperouse   Strait:  230 

Laptef,  Chariton:  237;  leads  expedi- 
tion,  238 ;   explorations,   238-247 

Laptef,    Dimitri:    227,    footnote;    sent 


to  continue  work  of  Lasinius,  242- 
243 ;  instructions  for  explorations, 
244;  undecided  regarding  instruc- 
tions, 243 ;  decides  plans  not  feas- 
ible, 246;  explorations,  86,  footnote, 
243-247;  failure  to  double  cape,  95; 
charts  Khroma  River,  246 ;  loses 
hope  of  charting  land  by  sea,  240; 
plans  for  charting  by  land,  240 

Larinof,  — :  sent  to  aid  expedition, 
177,  178 

Lasinius,  — :  leads  expedition,  242; 
trouble  with  Prochinchef,  242,  foot- 
note 

Latuya  Bay:  187,  footnote 

Lauridson,  P:  184,  footnote,  338,  339; 
work  cited,  343 ;  work  discussed, 
340 

Lawagu    (Tungus)  :   reports   supplies, 

34 

Lazesk  (station)  :  tribute  demanded, 
29 

Lazeya    River :    246 

Lena  River:  24,  footnote,  50,  foot- 
note, 87,  91,  footnote,  99,  footnote, 
I36,  137,  151,  169,  171,  172,  231, 
242,  footnote,  243,  244,  251 ;  boun- 
dary, 17;  date  of  discovery,  17, 
footnote;     source,     33;     exploration, 

35 

Lena  Sea:  see  Arctic  Ocean 

Leonidas:  54,  footnote 

Lesnaya  River:  102 

Leupe,  P.  A:  work  cited,  121,  foot- 
note,  342 

Lipin,  Osip:  relieves  Peter  Chirikof, 
103-104,  footnote;  murdered,  104, 
footnote 

Liquor  (intoxicating)  :  permission  to 
distill,  22,  footnote;  traders  for- 
bidden to  sell,  30;  sale  permitted, 
30;   as  part  of  salary,  25 

Lopatka  Cape:  101,  no,  113,  foot- 
note; orders  to  cross  to,  108;  for- 
merly called  Kamchatka  Cape,  100, 
footnote 

Loshkin,  — :  to  chart  coast,  244;  ex- 


INDEX 


359 


plores  rivers,  246 ;  sent  to  St.  Pet- 
ersburg, 246 
Luzhin,     Feodor:     explorations,     114; 
failure    of    expedition,     133;     dies 
from   hardships,    138 

Maikof,  L.  N:  work  cited,  133,  foot- 
note, 343 
Maiskoi    (station)  :  tribute  demanded, 

29 
Maja  River:  37,  137 
Malgin,  — :  92,  footnote,  233 
Malte-Brun,   — :    work    cited,   261 
Mama,  —   (boatswain) :   185,   323 
Manchuria:  64 
Mantzumay   (city)  :   123 
Maps:   suggestions   for   making,    169; 
order   to   make   charts,    114;    early, 
117-118;    missing,    335;    Gwosdef's 
reasons  for  not  making,  162;  show- 
ing Jeso,   123,    125-129;    of  Allard, 
123;  of  Duval,  124;  of  Delisle,  171: 
Bering   consults    Delisle's,    183 ;    no 
cause  to  ridicule  Delisle's,  183-184, 
footnote;    of   Remezof,    67,    88,    92- 
93,   footnote,   256-257;   of   Godunof 
and  Remezof,  256-257;   of  Lugten- 
burg,  124;  Kerilof's  cited,  227,  foot- 
note;   of    Mercator,    118;    of    San- 
son, 123,  129;  Shestakof,  153;  Wit- 
sen,  67,  126,  257-258 ;  and  also  un- 
der    names     of     individuals    cited 
above;    and   "List  of   Illustrations" 
Martini       (Jesuit)  :      knowledge      of 

Jeso,  127 
Matsmai    Island    (Kuril    group)  :    113 

and  footnote 
Matveef:   mentioned,   27,    footnote 
Mejow,  V.  I:  work  cited,  343 
Menshikof,  Prince:  173,  footnote 
Mercator,  — :  famous  map,   118 
Metals:  from  Kuril  Islands,   113   and 

footnote,  114 
Metchigne  Bay:  252 
Mexico,    171,    303 ;    believes   fabulous 
tale  of  wealth,  119-120;   expedition 
sent  from,  120 


Michaelof,  Amos:  27,  footnote;  in- 
structions to,   87 

Michaelowitz,   Alexe:  295 

Middendorf,  A.  Th.  von:  work  cited, 
257,  footnote,  343 

Mines:  iron,  166 

Minim,  —  (pilot):  236;  explorations, 
236-237;   reduced  in  rank,  237 

Mishukof,  Z.  D :  250,  footnote 

Missalof:  mentioned,  27,  footnote 

Mogami  Tokunai:  254 

Moll,  Herman:  258 

Molyk,  Ambiorn:  Swedish  naval 
lieutenant,  108 ;  goes  to  Kamchatka, 
109 

Mongols:  aggressive,  57-58;  secret 
understanding  with  Chinese,  58 ; 
name  for  Amur,  256,  footnote;  be- 
siege Russians,  54 

Morison,  George:  135,  footnote 

Morosko,  Luke:  commissioned  to  col- 
lect tribute,   99 

Morris,  W.  A:  thanked,  i» ' 

Morskoi  Sbornik:  cited,  108,  footnote, 
109,  footnote,  158,  footnote;  quoted, 
113,   footnote 

Moshkof,  — :  158,  160 

Moskwitin,  Ivan :  early  knowledge  of 
river,    33-34 

Motogo  Island  (Kuril  group)  :  113, 
footnote 

Motora,  — :  76,  277;  leads  company 
to  conquer  natives,  73 ;  cause  of 
trouble  with  Staduchin,  73 ;  joins 
forces  with  Deshnef,  74;  death,  75, 
279 

Muller,  F:  Remarkable  Maps,  cited, 
67,  footnote 

Muller,  G.  F:  183,  223,  225,  footnote, 
337;  rejected  as  authority,  15;  be- 
lieves little  early  interest  in  geog- 
raphy, 88,  footnote ;  scientific  re- 
searches, 170;  receives  information 
regarding  expedition,  114-115;  re- 
counts Russian-Chinese  trouble,  58- 
59 ;  gives  credit  to  Deshnef,  71,  76- 
77 ;    arguments   refuted,   78-95 ;    ac- 


360 


RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


count  of  Deshnef's  voyage,  268- 
281 ;  complaints  against  Bering, 
174-177;  account  of  Bering's  death, 
211 ;  works  cited,  88,  243,  343,  also 
in  footnotes,  59,  63,  71,  74,  82,  84, 
"4,  1I5,  178,  179,  181,  189,  191, 
2oo,  209,  211,  223,  224,  225 ;  works 
discussed,  339;  quoted,  82-83,  84, 
footnote,  85,  footnote 

Munster,  — .  shows  America  as  con- 
tinent, 117 

Muravyof-Amurski,  Nicolai  Nicolae- 
witz:  232,  233;  success  on  Amur 
due  to,  263 

Nachod,  Oskar:  work  cited,  119, 
footnote,    120,   footnote,   343 

Nadezhda  (boat):  221,  222;  number 
on  board,  228 

Nagaef,  — :  227,  footnote 

Nagai  Island:  200,  footnote 

Nartof,  — :  reports  of  Peter  the 
Great,   133,  footnote 

Navigation:  boats  prepared,  136,  221- 
222,  232,  247;  sailboats,  134;  junks 
found  on  coast  of  America,  128 ; 
Bering  learns  much  from  Koziref- 
ski,  136,  footnote;  details  of  Chiri- 
kof's  voyage,  323 ;  Bering's  first 
voyage,  141-147;  Shestakof's  ex- 
pedition, 155-156;  difficulties,  88, 
footnote,  91,  footnote,  94,  footnote, 
139-140,  198,  200,  202-206,  209, 
244-245,  269 ;  in  Arctic,  86,  foot- 
note; on  river,  86,  footnote;  dis- 
tance travelled,  184-186,  190;  see 
also  Explorations;  St.  Paul;  St. 
Peter;   Transportation:  boats 

Nertchinsk  (Siberia)  :  importance,  64; 
Russians  in  vicinity,  54;  Chinese  in, 
54,  footnote;  China  sends  messen- 
gers to,  57 ;  inhabitants  of  Albasin 
withdraw  to,  59 ;  Chinese  do  not 
take,  59,  footnote;  attempt  to  learn 
fate  of  Albasin,  62 

Nevelski,  — :  sent  on  expedition,  263 


Nikania:  88,  footnote 

Nordenskjold,  Nils  Adolf  Erik:  71, 
257,  footnote;  belief  regarding  na- 
tives, 82,  footnote;  voyage,  87;  ob- 
stacles, faced,  94;  works  cited,  86, 
footnote,  94,  footnote,  343 ;  quoted, 
94,  footnote 

North  East  Cape:  240,  241 

Novaya  Zemlya:  248 

Novogorod  (Russia)  :  159 

Novosiltsof,  V:  250,  footnote 

Ob    (boat) :   232 

Ob  Bay:  234 

Ob  River:  88,  footnote,  135,  169,  172, 
231,  234 

Obdorsk:  234;  Ovtzin  prepares  to 
winter  at,  234 

Ob-Postman  (boat)  :  235,  236 

Obschi  Morskoi  Spisok:  cited,  249, 
footnote 

Officers  (Russian)  :  see  Ataman; 
Dyak;  Desyatnik;  Golova;  Prika- 
schik;  Pyatdesyatnik;  Tselovalnik; 
IVoewods;  Siberia:  officers 

Ogloblin,  N.  (Russian  archivist)  : 
publishes  documents,  76;  works  cit- 
ed, 93,  footnote;  quoted,  77,  foot- 
note 

Okhotsk  (Siberia)  :  109,  footnote,  114, 
136,  138,  footnote,  155,  158,  159, 
162,  166,  171,  173,  footnote,  220, 
222,  225,  226,  227,  footnote,  228, 
230,  238,  243 ;  tribute  demanded, 
29;  Bering  winters  in,  137;  boats 
prepare  for  return  to,  146 ;  boats  to 
be  built,  169;  expedition  reaches, 
172-173 ;  Pizaref  leaves,  173,  foot- 
note; Spanberg  expects  quarters 
ready,  173  ;  boats  built  at,  178 

Okhotsk  River:  182 

Okhotsk  Sea  [Sea  of  Okhotsk]:  55, 
107,  109,  262,  263,  footnote,  265 ; 
Lama  Sea  early  name  for,  100, 
footnote;  see  also  Lama  Sea 

Okhotsk-Kamchatka    Route:    107,    153 


INDEX 


361 


Olekma  River:  34,  37;  best  course  to 
Amur,  38;  explorations  by  way  of, 
39 

Olekminsk  (station)  :  tribute  demand- 
ed,  28 

Olenek  River:  237,  239 

Olensk  (station)  :  tribute  demanded, 
29 

Oliutora  River:  97,  100,  footnote, 
107,  footnote,  113,  footnote,  156, 
273 ;    forts  on,    106 

Onikutun  Island  (Kuril  group)  :  113, 
footnote 

Opisanie  del  Archiva  Morskavo  De- 
partamenta:  165,  footnote,  249, 
footnote 

Opisanie  del  Archiva  Morskavo  Min- 
ister stva:  174,  footnote 

Ortellius,  — :  118 

Osterman,  — :   friend  of  Bering,    165 

Ostrog:  described,  26;  to  be  built, 
101 ;  Kozirefski  builds,  295 ;  see 
also  under  individual  names 

Ostrojok:  described,  26 

Otchestvenniya  Zapiski:  139,  footnote 

Ouda  River:  34,  151,  155,  228 

Ovtzin,  Dimitri:  218,  footnote,  220; 
reduced  in  rank,  236;  in  charge  of 
expedition,  234 ;  promoted,  250, 
footnote 

Pacific  Ocean:  17,  67,  68,  92,  foot- 
note, 107 

Palane  River:  100 

Pallas,  P.  S:  work  cited,  54,  343,  and 
in  footnotes,  177,  181,  182,  183,  184, 
190,  191,  192,  199,  201,  202,  205, 
208,  209,  211,  212,  214,  215,  216, 
217,  218,  219,  220 

Pamyatniki  Sibirskoi  Istorii:  cited, 
337>  343)  a'so  'n  footnotes,  78,  92, 
93>  97»  98,  99,  100,  102,  103,  105, 
106,  107,  108,  109,  no,  113,  114, 
151,  152 

Paren  River:  103,  footnote,  156 

Parker,  E.  H:  work  cited,  343,  and  in 
footnotes,  54,  56,   57,   58,  63,  64 


Pashkof  (Afanase)  :  54;  founds  Nert- 
chinsk,  54,  footnote 

Pavlof,  — :  232,  233 

Pavlutski,  Dimitri:  chosen  to  aid 
Shestakof,  155;  expedition,  158- 
159;  orders  from,  160  and  foot- 
note; prepares  for  fight  against 
Chukchi,  163 ;  doubt  concerning 
victory,  163,  footnote;  becomes 
woewod,  164;  killed,  164 

Peary,  Robert  E:  93,  footnote 

Penjinsk  Bay:  102,   156 

Penjinsk  River:  74,  97,  99,  100,  foot- 
note, 151;  search  for,  277 

Penjinsk  Sea:  101,  102,  297;  water 
known  as,  100,  footnote 

Perofilyef,  Maxim :  early  report  of 
rivers,  33 ;  reports  new  river,  255 

Petchora  River:  233 

Peter  the  Great:  19,  20,  91,  92,  127, 
footnote,  248,  257,  footnote,  338; 
orders  Japanese  captive  presented, 
101,  footnote;  sends  expedition, 
114;  reasons  for  sending  expedi- 
tions, 133-134,  footnote;  instruc- 
tions, 134;  interviews  Delisle,  130; 
instructions  to  Bering,  171 ;  assem- 
bles scientists  around  him,  165 

Peter  II :  orders  punishment,  173, 
footnote 

Petrilofskoi,  Alexei  (prikaschik)  : 
107,  footnote;  takes  plunder,  113, 
footnote 

Petrof,  — :  pilot,  227,  footnote 

Philippine  Islands:  303;   Manila,   119 

Pilikin  (trader)  :  mentioned,  27, 
footnote 

Pizaref,  — :  177;   brief  account,   173, 
footnote;    to    supervise    boat   build- 
ing,   169 ;    hindrance   to   expedition, 
173 ;    reasons    for    believing    Span- 
berg   not   in   Japan,   227,    footnote; 
accusations    against    Spanberg,    227, 
footnote 
Pjasina  River:  240,  241 
Plautin,  — :  183 
Plenisner,  — :  210,  211,  footnote;  214 


362 


RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


Podushkine,  — :  expedition  to  Sak- 
halin, 262 

Pogicha  River:  85,  275;  same  as  Ana- 
duir,  277;  reports  of,  72;  Koriaks 
ignorant,  72;  Alexeef  seeks,  73; 
explorations  for,   275-277 

Polo,  Marco:  118 

Polutof,   Gregory:   135,    footnote 

Popof,   M:  work  cited,   344 

Popof,  Peter:  report  regarding  east- 
ern Siberia,  152 

Polnoe  Sobranie  Zakonof  Rossiskoi 
Imperii:  cited,  337,  344,  also  in 
footnotes,    19,   20,   21,   27,    30,    114, 

T53.  I&9>  ^o.  I7I>  I72>  220 

Povorotnoi   River:   137 

Poyarkof,  Wasili:  38;  leader  of  ex- 
pedition, 34;  instructions,  35;  ex- 
pedition, 255-257;  result  of  expedi- 
tion, 37;  cruelty,  36  and  footnote; 
disregard  of  human  life,  36;  hatred 
of  natives  toward,  40 

Prikaschik  (Russian  officer)  :  21, 
footnote,  99,  footnote;  duties,  25- 
26 ;  collects  tribute,  27 ;  gives  de- 
tailed list  with  tribute  collected,  30 

Prochinchef,  — :  trouble  with  Lasini- 
us,  242,  footnote;  in  charge  of  ex- 
pedition, 237;  death,  238 

Ptishzef,  — :  228 

Purumshir  Island  (Kuril  group)  : 
113,  footnote 

Pushkin,  —  (woewod)  :  successor  to 
Golowin,  38 

Pustaya  River:  100,  footnote,  102 

Pustoi  Ostrog:  102 

Pustosersk:  232;   winter  in,  233 

Pyatdesyatnik  (Russian  officer) :  23, 
footnote,  99,  footnote;  salary,  24,  25 

Quast,  Mathijs:  in  charge  of  ex- 
pedition,  121 

Ravenstein,   E.   G:  work  cited,   339, 

344 
Recueil  de   Voyages   au  Nord:  cited, 
118,  footnote,  119,  footnote 


Remezof,  Semen:  ordered  to  draw  up 
maps,  88,  footnote;  uses  Atlasof's 
reports  in  constructing  map,  92-93, 
footnote;  maps,  67,  256-257,  257, 
footnote;  atlas,  26,  footnote;  work 
cited,    67,    footnote,   344 

Rinso,   Mamia:  254 

Routes:  discussed,  303;  prevent  Rus- 
sians from  using  Anaduir,  97;  of- 
ficers desire  safe,  to  Kamchatka, 
102;  to  Kamchatka,  105-106,  107; 
official  route  to  Kamchatka,  109 ; 
from  Asia  to  America,  303-313; 
from  Kamchatka  to  America,  325 

Ruble:  see  Currency 

Ruge,  S:  work  cited,  343 

Russia:  14,  24,  footnote,  31,  212,  foot- 
note; early  calendar,  15;  on  the 
Amur,  33-66;  success  on  Amur, 
263  ;  cause  of  failure  to  hold  Amur, 
64-65 ;  progress  in  Siberian  expan- 
sion, 67 ;  secures  possession  of  Si- 
beria, 17;  characteristics  of  Siberi- 
an leaders,  65 ;  result  of  attempts 
to  colonize,  56 ;  desire  to  know 
whether  Asia  and  America  are 
united,  251 ;  completion  of  sur- 
veys, 265;  credit  due,  265-266; 
treaty  of  Nertchinsk,  291-293  ;  dif- 
ficulty of  reading  early  Mss.  exag- 
gerated, 336.  Cities  -  Moscow,  19, 
21,  5i,  57.  64,  92,  108,  173,  foot- 
note, 257,  footnote,  337;  officers 
sent  from,  18 ;  false  reports  sent  to, 
20,  footnote;  prices,  28,  footnote; 
furs  sent  to,  31;  Poyarkof  sent  to, 
36,  footnote;  appeal  for  help,  57, 
footnote;  instructions  from,  60; 
messengers  sent  from,  63 ;  Deshnef 
returns  to,  91 ;  Atlasof  goes  to,  101 ; 
Atlasof  reported,  102,  footnote;  re- 
port in,  113,  footnote;  Bering  goes 
to,  to  report,  165.  St.  Petersburg, 
130,  footnote,  135,  footnote,  174,  189, 
212,  footnote,  228,  footnote,  231, 
235,  246,  247,  263,  299,  311,  331, 
338;  expedition  leaves,  135;  Bering 


INDEX 


363 


returns  to,  147 ;  men  and  supplies 
sent  for  expedition,  153-155;  not 
notified  of  expedition,  159;  expedi- 
tion leaves,  172.  See  also  Explora- 
tions; Kamchatka;  Siberia;  and 
names  of  individuals 

Russians:  21,  footnote,  28  and  foot- 
note, 30;  cruelty,  45;  population  in 
Siberia,  23,  footnote;  opinion  of 
natives  regarding,  36;  killed  by 
natives,  26;  prisoners,  58;  take  na- 
tive women  and  children,  27  and 
footnote;  regarded  as  divine,  281; 
chief  credit  for  surveys  and  explor- 
ations, 253 ;  early  known  in  Kam- 
chatka, 281;  confer  with  Chinese, 
63;  exploring  expedition,  34;  to 
withdraw  from  Amur,  64;  hunters 
bring  knowledge  of  Sakhalin,  255 ; 
return  to  Nertchinsk,  55;  see  also 
names  of   individuals 

Russkaya  Starina:  cited,  101,  footnote, 
127,  footnote,  344;  quoted,  236, 
footnote 

Sabsu    (Chinese   commander)  :    63 

Sadovnikof,  D:  work  cited,  256,  foot- 
note, 343 

St.  Diomede  (island)  :  discovered  and 
named,  145 

St.  Gabriel  (boat)  :  221,  222,  228 ; 
fate  unknown,  228,  footnote 

St.  John  (boat)  :  to  take  place  of  St. 
Gabriel,  228 ;  springs  leak,  229 

St.  Lawrence    (island)  :  143,   145 

St.  Paul  (boat  built  by  Bering  at  Ok- 
hotsk):  178;  reach  Avatcha  Bay, 
181;  under  command  of  Chirikof, 
183;  course  of,  185-189 

St.  Peter  (boat  built  by  Bering  at 
Okhotsk):  178;  reaches  Avatcha 
Bay,  181;  list  of  those  on  board, 
182-183;  course,  190-210;  to  be 
broken  up,  218 ;  Journal  cited,  196, 
footnote,  197,  footnote,  198  and 
footnote 


St.  Peter  (small  boat  made  from 
larger  of  that  name):  218;  course, 
220 

St.  Thaddeus  Mountain:  146 

Sakhalin  Island:  122,  230,  249,  foot- 
note; various  names  for,  253,  foot- 
note; various  spellings,  259,  foot- 
note; Russian  hunters  explore,  255; 
survey  not  completed,  251,  253;  in- 
vestigations concerning,  253-259; 
errors  of  cartographers,  260-261 ; 
insularity  proved,  263,  footnote, 
265 

Salary:  see  Wages 

Samoyede  Peninsula:  232 

Sanson,  Nicholas:  maps,  123-124,  129 

Sarytchef,  G:  196,  footnote;  work 
cited,   343 ;   quoted,   82,   footnote 

Sauer,  — :  196,  footnote 

Schaep,  Hendrick  Cornelisz:  in 
charge  of  expedition,  121 

Schrenck,  L:  work  cited,  344 

Selenga  River:  64 

Selifontof,  — :  to  chart  Beloi  Islands, 

234 

Selivestrof,  Yurya  [Iuschko] :  83,  87- 
88;  reaches  Anaduir,  75;  reports 
to  Jakutsk,  76;  claims,  88,  279; 
claims  disputed,  288 

Semenof,  — :  successor  to  Motora 

Senyavin,   N.  A:  250,  footnote 

Sevelyef,  —  (boatswain)  :  sent  to 
search  for  exploring  party,  186; 
fate,  186-187,  footnote 

Sevyastanof,  Vasili:  103,  footnote; 
makes  terms  with  outlaws,  104-105, 
footnote 

Sgibnef,  A:  108,  footnote,  109,  foot- 
note, 158,  footnote 

Shalagski  Cape:  68,  77,  footnote,  84, 
95,  251;  described,  77;  description 
fits,  82 

Shalaurof,  —  (merchant)  :  failure  to 
double  cape,  95 ;  takes  out  expedi- 
tion, 251 

Shantar  Islands:  228 


364 


RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


Shaposhnik  (trader)  :  mentioned,  27, 
footnote 

Shashovo  Island  (Kuril  group)  :  113, 
footnote 

Shelting,  — :  222,  223  ;  in  charge  of 
Nadezhda,  228 ;  ordered  to  chart 
coast,  230;  retired,  250,  footnote 

Shestakof,  Afanase  (golova):  163; 
desires  to  conquer  northern  Siberia, 
153;  expedition,  114,  footnote,  153- 
156;  attempts  conquest  of  Chukchi, 
156-157;  follows  Kozirefski's  map, 
113;  map,   153;   killed,   157 

Shestakof,  Ivan:  placed  in  charge  of 
boat,  155 

Shikoku  Island  (Kuril  group)  :  113, 
footnote 

Shilka  River:  34,  38;  discovered,  255; 
information  regarding,  37 ;  explora- 
tion, 35;  first  knowledge  by  Rus- 
sians, 33 

Shimushir  Island  (Kuril  group) :  113, 
footnote 

Shishkof,  — :  227,  footnote 

Shrenck,  L:  work  cited,  257,  footnote 

Shumagin,  — :  death,  199 

Shumagin  Islands:  199,  named,  199, 
footnote;  natives  of,  200-202 

Siberia:  13,  20,  43,  159,  191,  212,  foot- 
note, 249,  255 ;  character  of  officers, 
19,  footnote;  government  under 
Russia  in  17th  century,  17-31;  ge- 
ography, 67 ;  mistaken  ideas  re- 
garding geography,  68 ;  confusion 
among  geographers  regarding  east- 
ern, 152-153;  charting  of  coast, 
231 ;  general  characteristics  of 
early  explorers,  14;  eastern  desig- 
nated, 17;  northern  to  be  surveyed, 
169;  northeastern  survey  completed, 
251-266;  traders  allowed  to  enter, 
29»  3°>  footnote;  value  of  furs  in, 
31;  iron  mines  to  be  developed, 
166;  source  material  on,  15;  only 
satisfactory  work  covering,  334; 
see    also    under    names    of    capes, 


cities,  forts,  ostrogs,  rivers,  under 
names  of  individuals,   etc. 

Sibirski  Prikaz  (bureau  at  Moscow 
controling  Siberian  affairs) :  18, 
31,  295;  established,  19;  plans  sec- 
ond expedition  to  Kamchatka,  101 ; 
instructions  regarding  Atlasof,  102, 
footnote 

Siebold,  Ph.  Fr.  von:  121,  footnote, 
254;  work  cited,  254,  footnote,  255, 
footnote,  344 

Sinyavin,     — :     recommends     Bering, 

134 
Sivers,  — :  recommends  Bering,  134 
Siyaskutan     Island      (Kuril     group)  : 

113,   footnote 
Skurichen,  — :  reports  expedition,  159 
Slovtsof,    P.   A:    109,    footnote;    work 

cited,  71,  344 
Slunin,   N.   V:  work  cited,   344 
Sokolf,  — :   109,  338,   339 
Sotnik:  23,  footnote;  salary,  25 
Spafaria,   Nikolai    (envoy  to  China)  : 

56,  footnote 
Spain:  believes  fabulous  tale  of 
wealth,  119-120;  sends  out  expedi- 
tion, 120 
Spanberg  [Spangenberg],  Martin: 
301,  336;  selected  as  lieutenant  for 
expedition,  133,  footnote,  134;  leads 
one  division,  136;  winters  on  ves- 
sel, 135-136;  division  under  him 
suffers,  137-138;  advice  regarding 
explorations,  144;  requests  report 
of  expedition,  159;  not  to  show  in- 
structions, 171 ;  raised  in  rank,  171 ; 
instructions,  221 ;  preparations  for 
voyage,  221 ;  forced  to  go  to  Ja- 
kutsk  for  supplies,  228 ;  ordered  to 
repeat  explorations,  226-227,  227, 
footnote;  voyage  to  Japan,  220- 
231,  331-333;  not  thought  to  have 
reached  Japan,  227,  footnote;  last 
expedition,  228-231;  causes  for  fail- 
ure, 230;  first  to  chart  Kuril  group, 
115;     trouble     with     Pizaref,     173, 


INDEX 


365 


footnote;  complaints  against  Ber- 
ing, 174;  on  bad  terms  with  Wal- 
ton, 227,  footnote 

Spaniards:  explorations  for  gold  and 
silver,   119 

Staduchin,  Michaelo:  81,  282;  quar- 
relsome, 277  ;  position,  74,  footnote ; 
Deshnef  serves  under,  72 ;  among 
first  white  men  to  reach  Koluima 
River,  72 ;  sent  on  exploration,  275- 
277;  explorations,  72-73;  reports 
new  lands  and  waters,  273 ;  claims 
disputed,  287,  288 ;  failure  to 
double  cape,  95 ;  disappointment, 
74;   cause  of  trouble  with   Motora, 

73 

Staduchin,  Taras:  exploration,  92, 
footnote;  failure  to  double  cape,  95 

Staduchin,  Vasili:  deposition,  92,  foot- 
note ;   failure  to  double  cape,  95 

Staduchin  River:  88 

Stanovoi  Mountains:  17;  to  form 
boundary,  64 

State  Island:  124,  129,  footnote,  231 

Steller,  Georg  Wilhelm  [George 
William] :  182,  192,  footnote,  210, 
2ii,  footnote,  212,  footnote,  218 ; 
brief  account,  181,  footnote;  char- 
acteristics, 193,  footnote;  scientific 
researches,  170;  leaves  Okhotsk, 
178 ;  advises  sailing  to  north,  191 ; 
explorations,  193,  194-196,  327- 
329;  sent  ashore  for  water,  199; 
follows  natives,  201 ;  describes  na- 
tives, 202 ;  gives  account  of  Ber- 
ing's death,  212,  footnote;  death, 
213,  footnote,  249,  329;  work  cited, 
196,    footnote,  344 

Stepanof,  Onufria  (successor  to  Kha- 
barof ) :  51;  in  charge  of  expedi- 
tion, 51-54;  force,  54,  footnote; 
driven  out  by  Chinese,  53  ;  fate  un- 
known, 53-54,  footnote 

Stolb   Island:  237 

Strahlenberg,   P.   J:  128;    work   cited, 

344 
Strelegof,  — :  charts  coast,  236 


Streltsi:  mentioned,  21,  footnote 

Sukarof,  — :  234 

Sumchu    Island    (Kuril    group)  :   113, 

footnote 
Sungari  River:  47,  51,  53,  64 
Surukof  Potap:  102;  ordered  to  build 

ostrog,   101 ;   killed,   101,   footnote 
Surveys:  see  Explorations 
Sviatoi  Nos:  77,  244 
Sviatoi    Sea:    water    known    as,    100, 

footnote 

Taimur  Peninsula:  236,  237,  238 

Taimur  River:  239,  240,  241 

Talkowa   Mountains:    106 

Talkova   River:   137 

Tartarinof,  Peter:  107,   145 

Tartars:  17,  299;  Russians  follow, 
18;  raids  mentioned,  65;  natives 
resemble,   188,   319 

Tartary:  121,  123,  231;  Japanese  give 
information,    120 

Tartary  Strait:  254,  256,  260 

Tasman,  Abel  Jans:  in  charge  of  ex- 
pedition,   121 

Taui  River:   156 

Tchukotskaja  Bay:  86,  footnote 

Teleki,  Paul  Graf:  work  cited,  119, 
footnote,  121,  343 

Telenge    (ostrog    in    Siberia)  :    54 

Terra  de  Jeso:  mentioned,   13 

Tessoy  Cape:  123 

Tigil  River:  100,  102,  104,  footnote, 
109,   footnote,   156 

Titof,  A :  67,  footnote,  68,  footnote, 
97)  257>  footnote,  258,  footnote,  343  ; 
quoted,   88,   footnote,   91,   footnote 

Tiumen   (Siberia)  :  18 

Tobacco:  traders  forbidden  to  sell,  30 

Tobol    (boat)  :  235 

Tobolsk  (Siberia)  :  18,  101,  108,  155, 
159,  172  and  footnote,  213,  foot- 
note, 234,  299,  301,  327;  importance, 
18;  distilleries,  30,  footnote;  ex- 
pedition reaches,  135;  Atlasof  re- 
ported, 102,  footnote ;  force  ordered 
to  front,   59,   footnote;   Siberian  of- 


366         RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


fice    located    here,    19;    maps,    88, 
footnote 
Tolbuchin,  — :  sent  to  aid  expedition, 

177,   178 
Tolbusin,   — :   surrenders,    59;    to   be 
sent  to  Yenisei,  60;   requests  to  re- 
turn   for    harvest,    60;    ordered    to 
build   fortress,   60;    builds  new  Al- 
basin,  60;   orders  tribute   gathered, 
61 ;  death,  63 
Tomsk     (Siberia)  :    seat    of    govern- 
ment, 18 
Torture :  of  old  woman,  40,  44-45 ;  of 
individuals,  46 ;   of  hostages,  46-47 
Tougourski  Gulf:  see  Okhotsk  Sea 
Toutorsk    (station)  :   tribute   demand- 
ed, 29 
Trade:      American,      264,      footnote; 
Chinese,  31,  35;  Japanese,  166,  224, 
225;      suggested,      166;      food     for 
trinkets,    145 ;    with    natives,    256 ; 
explorers   claim   to   be   traders,    40. 
Fur  -  demanded    as    tribute,    28-29; 
certain  regions  closed  to  trader,  30, 
footnote;    natives   forced   to  sell   to 
Russians,   28 ;    induces  Russian   ex- 
pansion,   67 ;    Russia's    sole    desire 
for  Amur,   65 ;    private,   forbidden, 
27,    footnote;    sables,    28,    footnote; 
foxes,  28,  footnote;  traders  exempt- 
ed  from   fee,    30,   footnote;    cost  to 
traders,  29-30;  price  paid,  27,  foot- 
note; value,  31 
Tran,  T:  250,  footnote 
Transfiguration  Bay:  146 
Transportation:    means,    25;    difficul- 
ties, 173-174;  by  land,  182;  horses, 
136;     reindeer,     232;     hand     sleds, 
137;  sledges,  140;  deer  sleds,  143; 
deer  teams,  247.     Boats  -  109,  foot- 
note, 138;  to  be  built,  166,  171,  178; 
from  Koriaks,  102;  native,  187-188, 
315-317;    junks,    54,    footnote,    106, 
footnote,  no;  kotsh,  73,  78,  81,  93, 
103,  footnote;  lodka,  109.     See  also 
Explorations 


Treaty:  of  Nertchinsk,   64,  256,  291- 

293 
Trejakof,  — :  death,  204 
Treske,  — :  sailor,  109 
Trials:  fines,  22  and  footnote 
Tribute:   76,   83,    109,   279,   287,   288, 
295;   demanded,  27,  28-29,   35,  55; 
refused,  161 ;  natives  forced  to  pay 
several    times,    18 ;    inhabitants    of 
Amur  to  be  forced  to  pay,  39;  na- 
tives   to    pay,    275,    277 ;    Tolbusin 
orders  gathered,  61 ;  promised,  271 ; 
Dauri   pay,   44;    from   Kamchadels, 
297 ;  collected  from  Kamchatka,  99, 
102;     difficulty    in    collecting,     56; 
Poyarkof    forces,    37;    collect,    160; 
collectors  robbed,   57,  footnote;  na- 
tives    robbed,     20,     footnote ;     mu- 
tineers take,   50;   sables   given,  46; 
to  Chinese,   37 ;   whole   problem   of 
administration,    18 ;    five    years'    in 
Kamchatka,    105 ;    plans    for    ship- 
ping,    104,     footnote;     enumerated, 
106,  footnote 
Trifonof,    — :    sent    against    natives, 

107 
Trishka:  mentioned,  27,  footnote 
Trubetskoi,  Prince  I:  250,  footnote 
Tscherikov,  — :  213,  footnote 
Tschukotschia  River:  271 
Tselovalnik:  duties,  27  and  footnote; 
places   valuation,   28,   footnote;    ac- 
companies expedition,  34 
Tungus    (native   tribe):    317;    tribute 
demanded,   28-29  \   have   knowledge 
of  rivers,  33;   accompany  Russians, 
40;  steal  horses,  54;   aid  Shestakof, 
156 
Tungus  River:   172 
Tunguska  River:  135 
Turchinof,  Peter:  135,  footnote 
Turuchansk       [Turnachansk],        (Si- 
beria):   235,    236,    241;     exploring 
party  winters  at,  241 

Udoma   River:   174 


INDEX 


367 


Ukaraak   Island:   196 

Ulja  River:  256;  explored,  37 

Umlekan  River:  exploring  party 
reach,    35 

Urak    River:    174 

Urinski    Cape:    141 

Urup  Island  (Kuril  group)  :  113, 
footnote,  222 

Urusof,  V:  250,  footnote 

Ushakof,  A:  250,  footnote 

Ushishir  Island  (Kuril  group)  :  113, 
footnote 

Ussof,   Alexei :  269 

Ustpatansk  (station)  :  tribute  de- 
manded, 28 

Uwarowski,    Ivan:    109 

Vancouver,  G.  A:  work  cited,  344 

Vander  A  A:  map,   125 

Vandermalen,   P.   H:  work  cited,  261 

Van  Keulen,  Gerard:  125 

Vaugondy,   R:  work  cited,   344 

Vega    (boat)  :   86,   footnote 

Verstegen,  William:  reports  Spanish 
expedition,    120 

Vestnik  Imperatorskavo  Russkavo 
Geograficheskavo  Obschestva:  cit- 
ed, 54,  footnote,  99,  footnote 

Vetoshka,  — :  75 

Vetoshkin,  — :  report,  81 

Visscher,  — :  118,  footnote 

Vizcaino,  Sebastian:  in  charge  of  ex- 
pedition, 120;  voyage  mentioned, 
119,  footnote 

Von  Siebold,  P.  F:  work  cited,  343 

Vries,  Maerten  Gerritsen:  in  charge 
of  expedition,  121 ;  journal  pub- 
lished, 121,  footnote ;  discoveries, 
123 ;  explorations,  129,  255 

Vries  [De  Vries]  Strait:  124,  126 

Wages:  scale,  24;  tabulated,  25;  for 
natives,  28,  footnote;  paid  to  work- 
men, 173,  footnote;  Bering's  salary 
cut,  173,  footnote;  salary  in  ad- 
vance, 239 

Walrus:  bank,  75,  88;  tusks,  91,  269 


Walton,  — :  222,  223;  independent 
explorations,  225 ;  thought  to  have 
reached  Japan,  227,  footnote;  on 
bad  terms  with  Spanberg,  227, 
footnote;  does  not  accompany 
Spanberg  on  last  expedition,  229 ; 
death,    249 

War:  upon  natives,  27;  between 
Chinese  and  Russians,  48-49  and 
footnote 

Waxel,  Sven:  182,  198,  footnote,  208, 
2I8,  335!  wishes  water  casks  filled, 
196-197;  in  command  of  St.  Peter, 
199;  follows  natives,  201;  favors 
wintering  in  America,  206 ;  believes 
ship  to  have  reached  Kamchatka, 
209,  footnote,  210;  sick,  211;  pro- 
vided with  separate  quarters,  214; 
reports  size  of  new  boat,  219,  foot- 
note; rewarded,  250,  footnote;  re- 
port cited,  345 

Wells,    Edward:   258 

Wells,  L.  R:  thanked,  15 

Werchote:  mentioned,  27,  footnote 

White  River:  163 

Whittingham,  — :  265,  footnote 

Williams,   F.   Wells:  work  cited,    345 

Wiluisk  (station)  :  tribute  demanded, 
29 

Wimsk:  mentioned,   34 

Witsen,  Nicholas:  253,  footnote,  256, 
footnote;  takes  no  notice  of  Desh- 
nef's  explorations,  91 ;  maps,  67, 
126,  257,  258 ;  work  cited,  67,  257, 
footnote,  345 ;  value  of  work,  257, 
footnote 

Woewod  (officer)  :  17,  footnote,  23, 
26,  footnote,  27,  footnote,  338 ; 
duties,  19-20,  21,  22;  judicial  func- 
tions, 22  and  footnote;  abuse  of 
power,  20;  salary,  25;  conduct,  21- 
22,  footnote;  importance  of  To- 
bolsk, 19;  instructions  to,  60;  or- 
dered to  aid  expedition,  177;  orders 
exploration,  34 ;  sends  out  exploring 
party,  255 ;  governs  conquered  ter- 
ritory,  18;    hands  over  government 


368 


RUSSIAN  EXPANSION  ON  THE  PACIFIC 


stores,  31;  report,  28,  30-31;  re- 
fuses supplies,  173,  footnote;  out- 
laws do  not  fear,  57 ;  thefts  of  furs, 
tribute,  etc.,  20-21,  footnote 
Wrangell,  Ferdinand:  82,  345;  belief 
regarding  natives,  82,  footnote;  or- 
dered to  make  exploration,  252 ;  de- 
cides to  winter  in  America,  207; 
work  cited,  82,  252,  footnote,  253, 
footnote,    345 ;    quoted,    86,    footnote 

Yaksa:  see  Albasin 

Yamal  Peninsula:  232 

Yana  River:  100,  footnote,  107,  foot- 
note, 157,  244 

Yeco:  see  Jeso 

Yenisei  River:  38,  135,  169,  172,  231, 
23S>  238,  241 ;  force  ordered  from, 
59,   footnote ;   charted,   237 

Yeniseisk  (Siberia):  148,  235,  241; 
see   also  Fort  Yeniseisk 

Yevreinof,  Ivan:  explorations,  114; 
failure,   133 

Yudin   Collection:   15 

Yugor   Strait:   232,   234 

Yukagirs    (native   tribe)  :   tribute    de- 


manded, 29;  Koriaks  wish,  to  join, 
98;  accompany  Atlasof,  99;  turn 
hostile,  100;  surprise  Russians, 
106 ;  aid  Pavlutski  against  Chukchi, 
163 

Zaltieri,  — :  names  strait,  118 
Zapiski  Hydrograficheskavo  Departa- 
mente:  cited,  337,  344,  also  in  foot- 
notes, 134,  139,  143,  148,  159,  165, 
166,  169,  172,  174,  177,  178,  185, 
190,  198,  212,  223,  227,  231,  250 
Zapiski  Woenno-  Topograficheskavo 
Depo:  cited,  336,  344,  also  in  foot- 
notes,  135,  136,   137,  138,  139,  140, 

141,  143,  145,  147,  148 

Zhurnal  Ministerstva  Narodnavo 
Prosveschenia:  cited,  72,  footnote, 
73,  footnote,  76,  footnote,  77,  foot- 
note, 91,   footnote,  287,  footnote 

Zigansk    (station)  :  tribute  demanded, 

29 
Zimovie:  described,  26;   location,   26- 

27;   built  by  exploring  party,   35 
Zinovyef      (officer     from     Moscow)  : 

mentioned,   51 


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